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CONTENTS On the Cover As the community of fluent Cherokee language speakers ages, phone applications and the Internet are bringing the language into the digital age and making it more accessible to young generations. (Page 6)
News Park to repair U.S. 441 landslide by early summer..............................................4 Jackson County searches for its new brand..........................................................4 Taking a gander at a Haywood County gun show ..............................................5 Macon commissioners to review its election process ......................................9 Macon commissioners consider merits of employee raises ............................9 Canton contemplates replacing dilapidated pool..............................................10 Swain may finally get North Shore settlement money ......................................11 Lake Junaluska scrutinizes process of incorporation........................................12 Descendents commemorate death of old Haywood sheriff ..........................12 Jackson County plans to open Cashiers liquor store ......................................14 Jackson County to restart economic development commission ....................14 Haywood TDA launches informational site for lodging owners......................15 Company uncovers a dozen Haywood renters evading taxes ......................15
Opinion Schools need forest service money more than ever ........................................16
A&E Cartoons containing Southern stereotypes exhibited at WCU......................20
Outdoors Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
How elk eat, sleep and live in Cataloochee ........................................................26
Back Then Black locust among hardest of North American trees......................................39 WAYNESVILLE | 34 Church Street, Waynesville, NC 28786 P: 828.452.4251 | F: 828.452.3585 SYLVA | 629 West Main Street, Sylva, NC 28779 P: 828.631.4829 | F: 828.631.0789 I NFO & B ILLING | P.O. Box 629, Waynesville, NC 28786 smokymountainnews.com | wncmarketplace.com | wnctravel.com Contents © 2013 The Smoky Mountain News. All rights reserved. ™
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Smokies landslide could deal crushing blow to tourism if road repairs drag on BY SMN STAFF WRITERS rain-induced landslide in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park left a gaping hole in U.S. 441, but its impact could leave a lot bigger hole in the local economy if park officials are not able to fix the road in time to save at least part of the tourist season. Repairs could be done by mid-May to early June at the earliest, according to an estimated construction timeline released by the park service this week. The cost is anywhere between $3 million and $7 million. About 200 feet of the road was taken out by the slide leaving a deep chasm in its wake, as if a draw bridge had been blown up. “My first reaction was it’s a big hole,”
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said N.C. Senator Jim Davis, R-Franklin, after viewing the slide site this week. “That’s going to really hurt tourism in the district.” The landslide severed the main artery through the Smokies between Tennessee and North Carolina and could be a blow to tourism, specifically in Cherokee, if it isn’t reopened soon. “We have got to get that road open in very short order,” said U.S. Congressman Mark Meadows, R-Cashiers. “We have to push to make sure this gets on the fast track.” Actual reconstruction is expected to start in February, but debris removal and slope stabilization began this week. An entourage of more than 50 local, state, tribal and federal officials visited the
site of the landslide Monday. The group included state and federal highway agencies, Cherokee tribal leaders, state legislators, Congressmen and county commissioners from neighboring communities. Tribal government and lawmakers are pushing the park to streamline the reconstruction process — and perhaps even create a road bypass to get around the damaged road section in the meantime. Meadows is concerned about the regulatory hoops that could delay repairs, from national park environmental policies to the bidding process for construction contracts. “We have to make sure we get people actually working on it and not just planning work on it,” Meadows said.
If past landslides are any indication, businesses in and round Cherokee will not walk away unharmed. When a major rockslide closed down Interstate 40 in Haywood County in 2009, it effectively cut off Western North Carolina to visitors traveling into the state from Tennessee for six months. Tourism-dependent businesses throughout the region saw a sharp decline in patronage. “It was pretty significant. When a gateway is affected like that, there are the adverse consequences,” said Lumpy Lambert, assistant general manager of Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort. “It is in everyone’s best interest to get the road back opened.” It is currently unclear how much revenue Harrah’s could lose as a result of the landslide. But, casino executives will work with tribal leaders to encourage people in Tennessee to take extra time and drive down Interstate 40 to visit Harrah’s, while the usual route through the park is closed, Lambert said. While Cherokee is in the shadow of the
“It is in everyone’s best interest to get the road back opened.”
Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
— Lumpy Lambert, Harrah’s Cherokee Casino and Resort
Smokies Superintendent Dale Ditmanson talks with Cherokee Chief Michell Hicks and U.S. Congressman Mark Meadows at the site of a landslide that has shut down U.S. 441 through the North Carolina portion of the park. Donated photo
Smokies, Swain, Jackson and Haywood counties could feel the impacts of the road closure as well. Swain County attracts many outdoor tourists, from kayakers to hikers to sightseers. So, if spring comes and goes and the road is not fixed, “that is a pretty huge impact for us,” said Swain County Economic Development Director Ken Mills. Even if Swain County only attracts a small percent of the millions of motorists traveling U.S. 441 through the park every summer, the county could miss out on thousands of visitors coming to shop in Bryson City, ride the Great Smoky Mountain railroad or drive through the Nantahala Gorge, Mills estimated. “100,000 people is a pretty big site impact,” he said. “That would be terrific if they could have it fixed before the season.”
Smoky Mountain News
Wait for it…a tourism tagline coming soon for Jackson County BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER The newly formed Jackson County Tourism Development Authority is taking on the task of “branding,” an important first step for the entity that’s been tasked with developing a unified tourism promotion strategy for the county. The new countywide tourism board heard a two-hour presentation last week from branding consultants BCF, a Virginia based firm. A branding message could help unify and cohesively market the county as a whole, according to Clifford Meads, chairman of the tourism authority and manager at High Hampton Inn in Cashiers. Previously, the county had two tourism promotion arms, one representing the Cashiers area and the other representing the entire county. A tumultuous joining of the two entities has 4 played out amid controversy during the past 16 months.
Now that the new tourism authority is finally formed, a countywide brand may be unifying gesture, Meads said. “We have the opportunity to market the county as a county,” Meads said. “To come up with a brand, a theme, a message that echoes who we are collectively, as opposed to north and south.” The tourism authority collects a 4 percent tax on overnight lodging to fund promotion campaigns to attract tourists to the county. Meads said having a brand could be the first step in understanding how to portray the county to outsiders. It could also serve as a guideline for businesses in the area to buy into and build off of with their own advertising campaigns and marketing. “This is the foundation for the message throughout the county,” Meads said. “This is not a marketing plan; this is the benchmark to build a marketing plan off of.” Meads pointed to other slogans such as “Virginia is For
Lovers” and work that BCF has done for other locations such as Aspen, Colo., and Fredericksburg, Va. The company is expected to submit a formal proposal to be engaged as a consulting firm at the authority’s upcoming meeting. If the board members vote to proceed, the branding process could last about four months. Meads was unsure as to how much the contract may cost. Jackson County Commissioner Vickie Greene, who serves as a non-voting member on the authority board, said she sensed most of the members were very enthusiastic about the presentation made by BCF and would not be surprised if a decision were made at the board’s meeting this week. She said the contract with the group would include visitor surveys and visits around the county to aid in developing a theme or slogan. “Everyone I heard speak was excited about the proposal laid out, concerning surveying efforts and to brand our area,” Greene said “This is moving pretty fast.”
The biggest little show in Haywood
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knives, do-it-yourself books about traditional skills, war memorabilia and rare coins. Some had promotional literature for groups or clubs, like the Waynesville chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, where Derrick Shipman was manning the table. “It’s just been a wall of people here,” he smiled. “You see old friends, make new friends or catch-up with your neighbor.” Also attending her first show, Waynesville resident Hunter Carson was in search of a rifle but ended up buying a shotgun. Carson said she wasn’t expecting it to be so crowded, something she chalks up to
Gem Capitol Shows held a gun show at the Haywood County Fairgrounds. Dealers and consumers from around the region bought, sold and traded firearms, ammunition and other items, including knives and memorabilia. The next Western North Carolina event will be Feb. 23 and 24 at the Macon County Community Building in Franklin. Donated Photo
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Faddis stood over his spread of night gear and accessories, all hot items lately. Faddis knows there are a lot of stereotypes in regards to gun shows, and he’s quick to defend how smoothly and safely these events work. “People think gun shows are like the Wild West,” he said. “But, it’s not like that. There are all kinds of different things sold and bought here. There’s a lot of variety here, and everyone seems pretty happy about that.” Wandering up and down the tightly packed aisles, vendors hawked handmade
“People think gun shows are like the Wild West. But, it’s not like that. There are all kinds of different things sold and bought here. There’s a lot of variety here and everyone seems pretty happy about that.” — Darren Faddis, Frazier’s Tactical Firearms salesman
the controversy swirling around gun shows. “I do want to go to another show, but maybe when the current political climate calms down,” Carson said. For her, the show seemed to be more for collectors, with newer items harder to find. “I’d been looking for a 12-gauge shotgun, but it wasn’t on my priority list,” she said. Leaning against his truck in the parking lot, Canton resident Billy Mease, an avid hunter, came to see what’s new on the market and maybe purchase some ammunition. “I’m not into that whole paramilitary thing,” he said. “I just like to hunt and see what’s out there at these shows.” Mease said he attends several gun shows each year. It’s a hobby for him, which lately has become more and more expensive with recent national events affecting price and demand. Next to Mease was his brother, David, who also came to browse. “This is like Walmart on Black Friday,” David said. “It’s like a family reunion here.”
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BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER ike ants to a sugar cube, a line of vehicles funneled into the Haywood County Fairgrounds entrance — past a string of yellow placards declaring “Gun Show” in red block letters — to partake in the buy/sell/trade whirlwind of ammunition and firearms. Strolling up the dirt road to the show, Asheville resident Tom Crown was sitting on the tailgate of his small pickup truck. His voice echoed out from behind a thick pair of aviator sunglasses and a hat emblazoned with the words “Vietnam Veteran.” “Everyone here seems pretty friendly,” he chuckled. “It’s not like the mall — here generally, you don’t have people pushing and shoving in line because they have guns.” Gun enthusiasts snaked out the door, shuffling steadily into the exhibit hall beneath a bright sign warning entrants: “No Cameras. No Filming. No Felons. No Mental Patients. No Concealed or Loaded Weapons.” Many were carrying their own guns inside to sell or trade. A sheriff ’s deputy checked each one, making sure it was unloaded and properly stored. Stepping onto the vendor floor, one was overwhelmed not only by the number of tables but also the hundreds of patrons milling about. Nearby, promoter Ron Haven of Gem Capital Shows is tending to his selection, which today is filled with an array of antique and hard-to-find rifles. “People coming here are looking to collect, with everybody looking for something different,” Haven said. “It’s like when you go to buy a car. You have an idea of what you want, and you’ll figure out what you need once you start looking around.” Thousands filed through the gun show — some to gawk, some to buy, some to sell. All that traffic gives a boost to the local economy, Haven said. “These people are spending a lot of money here in Haywood County,” he said. The show floor was buzzing with shoppers. Some hoped to find an Old Winchester or Remington, others scoured the tables for
a Smith & Wesson or Colt. Many were just taking it all in — seeing what’s new, available or soon-to-be out of stock. “I try hard to run and promote a nice, clean show,” Haven said. “So many people try to run down gun shows and, as you can see here, it’s not like that.” Like a muscle car nut looking under the hood of a classic or music lover finding that diamond-in-the-rough at a record store, gun enthusiasts geeked out as they handled and purchased the latest technology. At a table run by Frazier’s Tactical Firearms from Georgia, gun salesman Darren
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Editor’s Note: Given the national debate over gun legislation and controversy swirling around gun shows in particular, The Smoky Mountain News was curious to see just what goes on at a gun show. Join our reporter on a stroll through the exhibit hall of a gun show at the Haywood County Fairgrounds last weekend and meet some of the hobbyists that wheel and deal in collector’s firearms.
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Can the digital age save the Cherokee language? The halls of Facebook, Google and texting
BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER usan Gathers was kicked back in the student union one afternoon, her thumbs poised over her smart phone, simultaneously bantering with friends while texting — sometimes even texting the same person she was talking to. This impressive skill to seamlessly dialogue in multiple mediums at once is nothing new for “Generation Next-ers” like Gathers. But unlike the typical truncated words and vowelless abbreviations that permeate normal textspeak, her screen was filled with Cherokee syllables as she pushed send. “What is … wait … oh, I get it. Ha-ha-haha,” Venice Mason laughed from across the table after sorting out the Cherokee message Gathers sent her. A mobile app that makes texting in the Cherokee language possible has become indispensible for Western Carolina University students majoring in Cherokee studies. “I want to be fluent,” said Gather, a 23year-old senior. “This is helping me reach that goal.” A small group of students — some Cherokee, some not — have formed a Native American Club on campus. One of their hobbies is practicing Cherokee, something they can now do in the modern digital mediums of their generation, be it texting or even Facebook. “That is how we are going to speak to each other in the future even more than we know,” said Cara Forbes, a freshman and president of WCU’s Native American Club. Rapidly firing incomplete sentences on cell phones might not look or feel like the same Cherokee language spoken by fluent elders, but it’s a critical juncture in the race to pass the torch to the next generation of speakers. Putting the language at the fingertips of youth in a format they know means the language is being used in daily life and interactions — which is ultimately the test of a language’s survival. “Language is something that happens in social interactions between people who hold that language in their minds,” said Hartwell Francis, the director of WCU’s Cherokee language program. “They are not thinking about how they are interacting; they are simply interacting through the language.” Cherokee language proponents have collaborated with Google to launch a Cherokee language interface and Cherokee language version of GMail. One click of the mouse can 6 switch the language settings to Cherokee for
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Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
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Cherokee language expert Hartwell Francis at WCU has designed websites and tools that can help those learning to hone their skills but cautions the Internet alone can't solve language revitalization. Below: Students in the Native American Club at WCU can now practice their Cherokee using new mediums, like texting, email and Facebook. Becky Johnson photos
“Language is something that happens in social interactions between people who hold that language in their minds. They are not thinking about how they are interacting, they are simply interacting through the language.” — Hartwell Francis, the director of WCU’s Cherokee language program
web searches and composing email messages. The possibilities are vast. Whether it’s Cherokee YouTube videos or skyping with native Cherokee speakers, getting the language into new popular mediums could make the difference in the language surviving or dying down the road. The digital age of the Internet has its pitfalls, however. “What does having this information available on the Internet mean to Cherokee speakers, Cherokee language learners and the Cherokee community?” Francis posed during a talk last month at WCU on Cherokee language in the digital age. But like any subject you search on the web, some is pure junk. Francis has spent untold hours sifting through Cherokee language websites,
and sadly, most are little more than clearinghouses with the Cherokee equivalent of English words — often the same lists borrowed and replicated. “You have essentially useless, overproduced word lists that are potentially incorrect, often a list of colors or an alphabet,” Francis said. Francis fears the plethora of these sites could give language proponents a false sense of security. “You can see how limited it is,” Francis said, pulling up one such site, where you type in the English word and it spits out the Cherokee syllabic pronunciation for its equivalent. “Language is words being put together in a meaningful context. It puts a severe bottleneck in your language learning if you have to type in word by word.” Still, part of Cherokee language revitalization is simply to capture words before they are lost. A beginner can piece together the Cherokee words for “my tooth hurts,” but the actual word for a toothache? That’s something only native speakers, who grew up in a language-rich environment with fluent parents speaking Cherokee daily, might actually know. Despite its downsides, the Internet may be a last line of defense for those struggling to keep the Cherokee language alive after generations of suppression. The Cherokee language is hanging on by a thread today, with a dwindling number of fluent speakers in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, most of them older. “If you are trying to eliminate a culture — a culture being the way that a group of people commonly think about things and interpret things amongst themselves so they can function as a group — the best way to eliminate that culture is to circumvent their way of interpreting the world,” said Tom Belt, a native Cherokee speaker and Cherokee language professor at WCU. In other words, take away their language. The United States government tried to eradicate American Indian languages a century ago. Children were forced into boarding schools where they were harshly punished for speaking their own language. Native languages were labeled vulgar, dirty, crude — so Cherokee people stopped speaking their own language publicly, and stopped passing it on. “The way people accessed a language was in their own homes and nowhere else. Among family members they may speak it in the yard or down the road from their house but nowhere else,” Belt said. “Access to that language simply becomes more and more limited.” The internet and digital age could help change that. “The more we make this available, the more people can access it again,” Belt said. “Whatever way we can make it accessible for people to learn, not only are we revitalizing the historical property of a language, but we are invigorating a culture.” If kids can text in Cherokee, that means the language isn’t solely surviving in a textbook but is actually being used in real human interactions — even if the medium is a screen. “It becomes the way people think again. It becomes the way things are brought up, the way a group of
Be a sweetheart this Valentine’s Day Mast General Store is partnering with MANNA FoodBank to raise hunger awareness with the 10th annual “Be a Sweetheart...Feed the Hungry” event in downtown Waynesville. This year, the Mast General Store location will contribute one dollar for each pound of candy purchased on Feb. 9-10 to MANNA FoodBank. For each dollar the organization receives, three nutritious meals are provided for someone who is hungry. According to Hunger in America, 106,600 Western North Carolinians seek emergency food aid from MANNA FoodBank’s partner agencies in a single year. In order to serve this need, MANNA distributed 7.6 million pounds of food in 2009, enough food for 15,000 meals per day. www.mannafoodbank.org.
Medical foundation appoints new chairman The Haywood Regional Medical Center Foundation Board of Trustees recently appointed Laura Leatherwood as the new chairman of the board. Leatherwood is the vice president of Student and Workforce Development at Haywood Community College, where she
N.C. DOT to resurface I-40, Newfound Road North Carolina Department of Transportation has awarded an $8.6 million contract to Harrison Construction Co. Division of APAC-Atlantic Inc. of Knoxville, Tenn. to resurface 5.7 miles of Interstate 40 in Haywood County between Exit 15 (Fines Creek) and Exit 20 (U.S. 276/Jonathan Creek). The contract also includes resurfacing 2.9 miles of Newfound Road from the Buncombe County line to south of Johnson Road in Haywood County. Work will start as early as April 15 and is scheduled for completion by Sept. 20.
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has worked since 2000. In addition to her new position on the HRMC Foundation board, Leatherwood serves on the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Habitat for Humanity Board of Directors, Western Carolina University College of Business Advisory Board and WCU Catamount Club Board of Directors. Leatherwood has a vested interest in MedWest-Haywood and has served as a hospital ambassador to the community during recent years. Having assisted with the opening of the MedWest Health and Fitness Center, which was funded primarily through the HRMC Foundation. www.medwesthealth.org.
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people function,” Belt said. skills to overlay the Cherokee words with the Digital language apps and tools catering to pictures from the book to make a new today’s tech-savvy generation have come a Cherokee language version. long way, but much of the potential is still The books in turn are augmenting the untapped. Francis would like to see a mobile library of the New Kituwah Language game in Cherokee. Academy, a Cherokee language immersion “Some kind of intrinsically interesting school for children from birth through fifth adventure game or a button mashing game — grade on the Cherokee reservation. The elite that will be one of the ways people learn the school where only Cherokee is spoken is language,” Francis said. ground zero in the effort to raise the next genA recent project involved kids doing a eration of fluent speakers. But the lack of Cherokee language version of the movie books in the Cherokee language is a challenge “Night at the Museum.” for the teachers. “They took something they loved and reThe biggest hurdle, however, lies ahead. enacted it in their own language. It raises the Will the students keep using the language prestige of the language, and it also gives you those language “Whatever way we can make it interaction examples you might be missing,” Francis said. accessible for people to learn, not Cherokee language propoonly are we revitalizing the historinents have begun recording native speakers reading stories, cal property of a language, but we and then paired the MP3 audio are invigorating a culture.” files with PDF’s of the written Cherokee syllabary. — Tom Belt, native Cherokee speaker and One hurdle, however, is that Cherokee language professor at WCU today’s native speakers — the keepers of the language so to speak — are mostly elderly. They don’t know once they hit middle school and leave the how to use computers. cocoon of the immersion language classroom? Some of the students in the Cherokee cul“The problem is maintaining that when tural club at WCU have stepped in to bridge they graduate from the fifth grade. That’s that divide, helping create translated versions where this new media comes in. They are of children’s books in Cherokee using comput- going to need the new and fresh ways of interer software. Native speakers write out the acting,” Francis said. Cherokee translation for children’s books by Facebooking, Googling and texting in hand, and the students use their computer Cherokee could be key.
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Macon County commissioners and staff adjourn at a recent board meeting. Andrew Kasper photo
the seat is back on the ballot. Candidates from Franklin have more chances to run since at least one of the three seats from that voting district would be on the ballot every other year. “At some point this year, I want us to have that discussion,” Tate said. “There are a lot of other little reasons, too, but the greatest thing is to make it fair so everybody has the opportunity to run.”
Another concern of Tate’s is the way district lines are drawn for Highlands. Part of the district extends into the greater Franklin area, making it feasible that the county could have four commissioners from the Franklin area, and nobody hailing from Highlands. Although commissioners are elected countywide by all the voters as a whole, regardless of what district they live in, candi-
Macon ponders raises and salary realignments for county workers
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The pay study was embarked on by the last board of commissioners in 2011 and was completed last summer. It had been more than 10 years since such a study was performed and was brought about after the county sheriff came before commissioners to complain about losing deputies to neighboring departments that had more competitive salaries. The raises suggested by the study would bring the salaries of the county employees considered to have below average incomes up to a minimum threshold. Workers already making incomes above that threshold would instead receive 2 percent raises. County Manager Jack Horton said 55 percent of the county’s employees are below the minimum threshold. “On behalf of employees in the county, this is a fair thing to do,” Horton said in support of the raises. Horton said the county isn’t trying to provide salaries on par with the larger Buncombe or Henderson counties but would like to make sure loyal and hard-working employees are recognized and paid fairly for their work. Furthermore, the 3 percent cost of living increases given to employees in 2011, hardly makes up for the 10 percent cost of living
increase during that same period, Horton said. Horton said the county could fund the raises with money it saved recently by financing its outstanding debt at a lower interest rate, as well as expected upticks in sales tax
Commissioner Ron Haven also expressed his concerns over the raises and echoed his colleague’s concerns about giving public sector employees a boost while private sector workers may not be so fortunate. “We have some of best county employees in country,” Haven “Be reminded that in the private said. “But what about the mechansector there are no raises. People ic that fixes the car when it’s broken, or the plumber who fixes the in the private sectors are losing. pipes in your house?” Haven was also concerned I’m not saying, ‘Let’s not do this.’ about the cycle of taking so-called This needs to be talked about.” savings and using them for more spending. — Paul Higdon, commissioner Commission Chairman Kevin Corbin said his prerogative was fulcollections. Last year, sales tax jumped 3 perfilling the promise not to raise taxes and trustcent, Horton said. ed Horton that the pay raises wouldn’t cause Higdon applauded Horton for saving property taxes to go up. money on the refinancing move, but if those Corbin said he is looking forward to the savings are simply funneled to other things pay study report being delivered to the comlike raises, the county hasn’t really “saved” missioners at their meeting in February by anything. Higdon ran his campaign on promthe consulting group. ises to not raise taxes and to cut spending. Commissioner Jim Tate said he would sup“You’re finding ways to save money,” port the raises. Higdon said. “But as long as that’s allocated “I personally do not have problem with for something else you never really get ahead this at all,” he said. “The county employees in the game of cutting overall spending.” are our greatest asset in my opinion.” 9
Smoky Mountain News
BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER roposed pay raises for county workers in Macon has prompted skepticism from at least two of the five county commissioners, who are asking if now is the right time for that. The proposed pay raise would boost the salaries of all county government employees. The total plan would cost the county an estimated $750,000 per year and help all the county’s employees, more than 400 in all. If passed, it would be the second raise for government employees in the past few years. In 2011, a 3 percent cost-of-living increase was given to the county’s employees. However, a recent pay study by an outside consulting group found that county employees are, on average, underpaid by 20 percent when compared to similarly sized counties. But newly-elected Commissioner Paul Higdon said although he wasn’t opposing the plan, he was unsure the raises were warranted in a struggling economy. He used employees in the private sector as a comparison. “Be reminded that in the private sector, there are no raises. People in the private sectors are losing,” Higdon said. “I’m not saying, ‘Let’s not do this.’ This needs to be talked about.”
Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER acon County commissioners are analyzing the geographic system of electing county leaders after two commissioners from outlying communities questioned whether the process is too weighted in Franklin’s favor. Commissioner Jim Tate of Highlands complained that the method for electing commissioners is unfair to candidates from districts representing Highlands and Nantahala. “I have a problem with how you’re elected as a county commissioner now,” Tate said, broaching the issue during a county commissioner workshop two weeks ago. Candidates from Highlands or Nantahala only have a shot at running for office once every four years, while commissioner hopefuls from Franklin can put their name in as often as every other year. There are five seats on the county board. One commissioner is elected from the Highlands area, one is elected from the Nantahala area and the other three are elected from Franklin. Commissioners serve four-year terms, but they have staggered election cycles, with part of the seats coming up for election one year, and the rest coming up for election two years later. But with just one seat each from Highlands and Nantahala, candidates from those communities have to wait a full four years before
news
Macon leaders ponder new method for parceling up commissioner voting districts
dates must hail from their respective districts, ensuring a voice for outlying communities on the county board. Newly elected Commissioner Paul Higdon from Nantahala said he wanted to put the topic on one of the upcoming meeting agendas sooner rather than later. However, any changes would have to be made at the state level based on the county commissioner recommendations. A few potential solutions were voiced by fellow commissioners. Commission Chairman Kevin Corbin said one of the seats currently designated for Franklin could become an at-large, or countywide, seat. That would give the outlying commissioners with an extra opportunity to run for a seat. Other solutions involved splitting the county into five districts, instead of three. Then, candidates from any given district would have an equal election cycle with just one shot every four years. Commissioner Ron Haven said he would support a five-district system in which only the districts’ constituents elect each commissioner. Running a countywide campaign is difficult, and he prefers that each commissioner is accountable to voters only his own district. “The people in Highlands should be the ones that vote for people in their district,” Haven said. Commissioners have directed the county’s attorney, Chester Jones, to review the system — both the voting districts and election process — and report back to the board by March. Corbin said Tate’s concerns are valid and is waiting to hear back from the attorney. “There’s a little bit of an equity issue,” Corbin said. “I don’t know that we’ll do anything, but basically, we agreed to take a look at it.”
news Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
Time to fish or cut bait in Canton swimming pool dilemma
Because Canton has one of the only outdoor pools in the area, it is a popular destination for kids, parents and sun-bathers. However, the pool is nearly 70 years old and in desperate need of replacement. Margaret Hester photo
Smoky Mountain News
BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER he decrepit state of Canton’s aging outdoor swimming pool has left town leaders with two options — bulldoze it and build a new one or simply close it. An independent engineering study showed the base price for replacing the pool would be less than $400,000. Repairing the existing one would cost almost as much — about $320,000 — and wouldn’t have nearly the life span, so that option isn’t being considered. The pool is nearly 70 years old — and its age is showing. Town workers patch and mend the pool every year, first draining it and then climbing into the empty bed with buckets of fresh concrete in hand to fill cracks. But, the temporary fixes would only buy so many years until the inevitable — the pool will eventually reach the end of its useful lifespan. Each year, new, sometimes larger, cracks appear. And the problems are bigger than just the cracks. The earth under the pool bed has eroded, leaving an unstable foundation under the pool. And, the pipes are leaking water, forcing the town to top off the pool daily. Canton leaders began talking about the 10 fate of the pool a couple of years ago, but no
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decisions were made. As the pool’s condition continues to decline, its future rests with the current board of aldermen. An independent study by McGill Associates consulting firm evaluated the cost of having its pool professionally repaired versus the price of ripping out the dilapidated pool and installing a new one. McGill Associates presented its findings to the town board last week. According to the report, there is no doubt that the town would be better off replacing the pool — that is, if town leaders want to keep operating an outdoor pool. “That report told me what everyone was thinking — that pool is not repairable. It’s not worth repairing,” said Aldermen Jimmy Flynn, who supports building a new pool. There are no guarantees when it comes to fixing the current pool. For an estimated $313,000, a contractor would inject a highdensity resin into the cracks, coat the pool floor with a layer of plaster and test the foundation under the pool for deficiencies. But, there is no telling how long such a Band-Aid would last, and the cost would not include repairs to leaky pipes or any work to shore up the ground beneath the pool should any structural problems be found. The report also figured that Canton uses about $75,000 worth of water annually
because of leaks in the pipes. Everyday, pool employees had to fill the pool with more water because of cracks and leaks, said Flynn, who worked at the pool for 10 years before he was elected alderman. “It takes a lot of money,” Flynn said. By comparison, the base price of replacing the main pool and kiddy pool is about $389,000. The estimate includes demolishing the
“I think it is a great benefit. It gives kids something to do. We are providing service for the folks who live in the county.” — Patrick Willis, Canton alderman
current pools and decking, rebuilding the foundation and installing new pools, piping and a deck — the concrete pad and walkways around the pool. However, the replacement pool suggested in the McGill report would be smaller and shallower than the current one, which is currently the largest outdoor swimming pool west of Asheville.
It’s 7,200 square feet and reaches depths of 10 feet. The new pool would only be 5,100 square feet and reach a maximum of five feet deep, which would mean no more diving board. The report states that most pools have done away with diving boards for liability reasons. Indeed, Canton is one of the last outdoor pools in the mountains that still has one. Alderman Ed Underwood questioned whether young kids would still want to go to the pool if it did not have a diving board. Even though Canton has one of the most visited pools in the area, Underwood said he thinks visitation has dwindled compared to decades past. “It’s not like what it used to be when I was young, but we have more going on,” he said. Although town leaders have not scheduled any public hearings yet, Underwood said they would like to hear what people want before making any decisions about whether to fund the pool’s replacement. “There are some people out there who don’t even care if we have a pool,” Underwood said. Money is a big part of Underwood’s hesitation. “I think everyone would like to see one there if we can afford to pay for it,” Underwood said. The cost of a new pool aside, simply operating the pool is a drain on town resources. Canton charges $3 a day for entry, but it is not enough to cover its expenses. Last year, the pool brought in about $55,000 from admissions but spent more than $150,000 on overhead and operations for the pool. Other aldermen were more supportive of keeping the pool up and running. “I think it is a great benefit. It gives kids something to do,” said Alderman Patrick Willis. “We are providing service for the folks who live in the county.” If town leaders do decide to rebuild the pool, the board will also have to mull over whether to add special features. The town could pay extra for waterpark features such as a slide, mushroom water fountains or tumble buckets that flip over, spilling water when full — which could add thousands dollars more to the price tag. Slides can run $10,000 to $20,000 a piece, and mushroom fountains, depending on the size, may range from $10,000 to $15,000. On the flip side, fountains that spray water up, out of the concrete, are only about $1,000. Despite increased cost, the aldermen were in agreement that they would like to see something more than just a pool, especially since diving would no longer be allowed. “It would be nice for smaller kids. I think we should look at things that diversify the pool experience,” said Willis, who has two young children of his own. Along with the pool, the accompanying pool house and concession stand need a facelift as well, just not as extreme. Canton Town Manager Al Matthews said improvements to those structures — such as a new coat of paint or a new ventilation system — could be handled in-house. “Not a significant expense compared to the cost of pool replacement,” Matthews said.
Hung up by park service, Swain’s cash settlement has been in limbo
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Department of Interior in case things still aren’t resolved by then. Congressman Mark Meadows, RCashiers, said Swain appears to be a victim of red tape, a systemic problem in the federal government as a whole. “Obviously the money was appropriated with the cash settlement in mind,” Meadows said. “It is important to me to make sure this obligation gets taken care of.”
READING BETWEEN THE LINES A quick study of federal budget conference reports shows an extra $4 million was inserted into the park service budget for Swain County. Congressional budget writers even included the $4 million for Swain on a park service “prioritized project” list. But that itemized list didn’t appear verbatim in the final Appropriations Act. So the park service was left to read between the lines — were they supposed to give the $4 million to Swain or not? That’s where the GAO report comes in. It doesn’t carry the same punch of forcing the park service to turnover the $4 million, but may prove a critical turning point in the stalemate. “It knocks the pins out from under their former position,” said David Moulten, senior director for legislative affairs with The Wilderness Society in D.C. “It essentially states the National Park Service may use the money to pay Swain County. So it is now up to the park service to do the right thing.” Park Service officials declined to comment for this article. When asked whether it would turnover the money in light of the GAO opinion, a park service spokesman said the agency is still seeking additional clarification — although it is not clear from
IN SWAIN’S CORNER The Wilderness Society and the National Parks Conservation Association have gone to bat for Swain County over the hung-up money. Several years ago, environmental groups helped convince Swain County to give up its fight to rebuild the long-ago flooded road and take a monetary settlement instead, saving the Smoky Mountains from a massive construction project through remote backcountry terrain. “I feel like the conservation community
“Obviously the money was appropriated with the cash settlement in mind. It is important to me to make sure this obligation gets taken care of.”
ment supporters need. The park service previously claimed its hands were tied, that it couldn’t fork over the $4 million even if it wanted to. But the GAO report ruled the park service has the discretion to make the payment. “The GAO kind of put it back in their court,” said Swain County Manager Kevin King. “So they have the authorization to make the payment, and now we are just waiting on that payment basically.” Swain County leaders are planning a trip to Washington, D.C., in late February in hopes of meeting with the park service and
whom. Previously, the park service asserted that Congress itself would have to revisit the issue and vote on whether Swain was supposed to get the mystery $4 million sitting in the park’s budget. “The National Park Service does not have the authority necessary to release the funds. It is not an option until Congress provides the authority,” Jeffrey Olson, spokesman for the National Park Service at its D.C. headquarters, said in an interview last summer. But that’s actually not the case, according to the GAO ruling.
owes it to Swain County,” said Martin, a Macon County resident who is the Southern Appalachian field director for The Wilderness Society in Sylva. “If we were opposed to the road and pushed for the cash settlement, we should also be pushing to make sure that cash settlement happens.” The GAO opinion had been a last-ditch attempt to show the park service that it was allowed to turn over the money despite its claims to the contrary. Former Congressman Heath Shuler, a Democrat who lives in Waynesville but is from Bryon City, asked the GAO to weigh in last summer. The opin-
ion didn’t come through until Shuler’s final days in office in December. Shuler has been a champion of the cash settlement. Growing up in Swain County, Shuler knew first hand the deep-seated resentment and festering distrust of all things government — from the broken promise to rebuild the flooded road to the vast land takings for the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and later Fontana Lake. Shuler was instrumental in negotiating the $52 million cash settlement. There was a catch, however. Unable to finagle the full $52 million in one fell swoop, an agreement was forged between Swain County and the federal government for annual installments — if, that is, Congress would appropriate it. Before Meadows was sworn into office in early January, he had breakfast with Shuler where the cash settlement for Swain was one of the issues they discussed. “We are going to follow up and make sure we get a resolution,” Meadows said. Meadows questioned whether the $4 million appropriated back in 2011 — but likewise never remitted to Swain County — is still out there somewhere. “It could still be sitting there, and we are looking in to that to see if we could get it released, too,” Meadows said. It underscores another problem in the federal government. There’s no tracking device on money to easily show how agencies are spending their appropriations. U.S. Senator Kay Hagan, D-N.C., has worked closely with Swain and the environmental groups on the issue as well.
Smoky Mountain News
— Mark Meadows, Congressman
The bureaucratic tale of Swain County’s $52 million cash settlement starts 70 years ago, when the creation of Fontana Lake flooded a snaking rural road leading from Bryson City to Tennessee. Swain County became hemmed in by the giant lake and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, effectively relegated to “end-of-the-line” status. The government promised to build back the road it flooded, but nearly 70 years later, the cost and environmental hurdles of building a new 25-mile road through the Smoky Mountains proved too great. A compromise was struck instead: compensate Swain County with a cash payment of $52 million, spread out in annual installments. But after an initial down payment of $12.8 million in 2010, Swain hasn’t seen a penny. ■ In 2011, the payment was included in the National Park Service budget but was rescinded mid-year after being caught up in an across-the-board clamp down on earmarks by Congress. ■ The payment was again appropriated in 2012, but so far, the National Park Service has refused to release it, claiming it lacked clear authority to do so. ■ As for this year? The presidential budget left it out; some say accidentally, but left out nonetheless.
Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
BY B ECKY JOHNSON STAFF WRITER long overdue $4 million payment may finally make its way to Swain County after languishing for the past year in the budget dungeons of the National Park Service. The payment is part of a larger $52 million cash settlement the federal government pledged to pay Swain County — a deal intended to finally compensate the county for a road that was flooded when Fontana Lake was built in the 1940s. But since an initial down payment of $12.8 million in 2010, Swain hasn’t seen another penny. Last year, $4 million was embedded in the National Park Service budget to go toward the cash settlement. But the National Park Service has been sitting on the money, claiming it was unclear whether it had the authority to turn it over. A coalition of Swain leaders, congressmen and environmental groups have been trying to break through the frustrating logjam of red tape. “I feel like a lot of people in Swain County have a legitimate gripe that they were betrayed in the 1940s. To think they would be betrayed on the cash settlement — it is like double betrayal. I don’t want Swain County to get stiffed again on this,” said Brent Martin, Southern Appalachian field director for The Wilderness Society in Sylva. Efforts to shake it loose seemed to be in vain, however — at least until now. A recent opinion issued by the federal General Accounting Office found that the park service doesn’t have to turn over the $4 million. But it can if it wants to. The opinion may seem wishy-washy, but could be just the ammunition cash settle-
Show me the money news
Hope on the horizon
The park service doesn’t need an extra green light from Congress, according Edda Emmanuelli-Perez, managing associate General Counsel with the GAO in Washington, D.C. “What we said now is, ‘Go back and look at the appropriation. If you determine it is available, then you may make a payment, but you are not obligated to do so,’” Emmanuelli-Perez said. For those in Swain County who fought for the cash settlement, the stance of the park service has been disappointing, said Leonard Winchester, a local spokesperson for Partnership for the Future of Swain County. It was clear from budget conference reports that $4 million was included in the park service budget expressly for the cash settlement, Winchester said. “It is just a technicality,” said Leonard. “For all the other money in the budget, they’ll spend it like it was referenced in the conference report.” The absence of a spelled-out list hasn’t stopped the park service from spending the rest of the money in its budget. Only when it comes to the cash settlement money did the park service decide a higher standard of authorization is necessary. It would have been easier, of course, if the Appropriations Act had included a direct reference to the cash settlement. “If it doesn’t do that, then as a legal matter the agency has discretion,” said Emmanuelli-Perez. “They can look at the conference report and say, ‘We are going to follow the recommendations in that report.’”
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news
Descendents rekindle Civil War tale of sheriff shot 150 years ago
Descendents of Sheriff John P. Noland, murdered 150 years ago in Haywood County, gathered last week to remember the long-forgotten tale and dedicate memorabilia to the county. Caitlin Bowling photo BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER he death of Haywood County Sheriff John Phillip Noland — a murder story set against the backdrop of the American Civil War — sounds as if it belongs in the pages of Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain. Like the plotline of the award-winning novel, Sheriff Noland’s was ambushed a gunned down on a remote mountain pass while chasing down men who deserted or evaded the war effort. Although the true story of Haywood’s only sheriff killed in the line of duty harkens back to 1862, the long-since forgotten tale isn’t rekindled until the early 1980s with Sheriff Noland’s descendant Lynn Noland, a retired Waynesville attorney. For years, Lynn Noland had been investigating his family tree and history because “nobody
Smoky Mountain News
Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
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else was doing it,” he said. And as happenstance would have it, he stumbled upon a little known story of involving one of his ancestors. One day out of the blue, a friend and fellow attorney Frank Ferguson began relaying the story of Sheriff Noland’s murder, asking if Noland had ever heard of the man. “I said, ‘Never heard of him. Never heard of the story,’” Lynn Noland said. But soon, the life of Sheriff Noland became a decades long obsession for his descendent. The account went like this: during the Civil War, Sheriff John Noland was charged with enforcing conscription laws, which required all able-bodied men to fight for the Confederate army. Sheriff Noland’s job was to find deserters hiding in the dark recesses of the mountains. Two brothers, Bud and Harrison Robinson, were hidden out in Roger’s Cove
Lake Junaluska winnows options as merger window narrows BY CAITLIN BOWLING STAFF WRITER ake Junaluskans got their first glimpse this weekend at what it would take for the community to become its own town. Incorporating as its own town comes with a host of regulatory, political and logistical hurdles. A task force studying the future course of Lake Junaluska residential neighborhoods heard a report on the ins-and-out of forming their own town at a public meeting Jan. 26. The meeting was focused on whether incorporating as its own town should remain on the options on the table, but questions from those in the audience steered the discussion to the other leading option: being absorbed by the town of Waynesville.
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above present-day Lake Junaluska — but Bud know still existed — the cloth crimson rosette got caught before the pair could flee west worn by Sheriff Noland on the day of his death. away from the war. To get revenge on the A distant relative from Washington had sheriff, who had arrested his brother, the rosette, which was used as a sign of office Harrison devised a plan. during the Civil War. Since he had no heirs, On Sept. 22, 1862, JoAnn Robinson rode the man requested that the piece of history into Waynesville to visit her jailed husband, be presented to the Haywood County Bud, before returning to the place where Sheriff ’s Office. Harrison was waiting. Sheriff Noland, hoping And finally last week, Noland presented to find criminals who had thus far evaded the crimson rosette to Haywood County him, following JoAnn — not realizing he was Sheriff Bobby Suttles at a short ceremony following her to his death. held at the sight of Sheriff Noland’s murder It was a setup: Harrison had sent JoAnn to 150 years later. town, knowing the sheriff would tail her, and “Today marked the culmination of a long as JoAnn approached, presumably with the task that should have been completed a long sheriff on her tail, she time ago,” Noland said. would give the preThe rosette, which is arranged signal to encased in a shadow box, Harrison and possibly is on display in the atriother ambushers hiding um of the Haywood in the woods. A heavy County Sheriff ’s Office. lead ball struck Sheriff “This is the first I’ve Noland in the throat, ever heard of a sheriff killing him in a spot now being killed in Haywood called “Noland Gap.” County,” Suttles said. “I More than a century was really amazed by later, the tale of conspira(the story).” cy, outlaws and murder The tale of Sheriff enthralled the sheriff ’s Noland’s demise was descendent Lynn particularly fascinating Noland. But uncovering to the couple that curDuring the Civil War, the details to piece rently lives on the propSheriff John Noland together the chain of erty where he was shot. events proved difficult. Kathy Bell and her huswas charged with To find more inforband are both retired mation, Ferguson directenforcing conscription history teachers. ed him to a lady living in “Anytime you can get laws, which required Hazelwood. The woman local history, it’s a story. not only knew the tale It’s not just a list of facts all able-bodied men but also had among her and peoples names that possessions the outfit you’re never going to to fight for the Sheriff Noland had worn remember,” Bell said. Confederate army. the day he was shot — a The couple did not black coat, black pants know the interesting and a white shirt stained with blood. piece of history that took place just at the end “It looked like somebody poured choco- of their driveway until a couple weeks ago late syrup all over the shirt,” Noland said. when Noland knocked on their door. During the years, Noland continued to “He just sort of showed up on our door research Sheriff Noland’s life. And, one day in one day and said, ‘By the way, I have this story 2004, Noland found something that he didn’t to tell you,’” Bell said.
While most of the 100 or so people at the meeting last weekend simply sat and listened, a handful of property owners questioned whether the process was moving too fast and who would get a say in what happens to Lake Junaluska. The Lake Junaluska Task Force has spent the last nine months looking into options for the lake’s future, which include merging with Waynesville, incorporating or staying as it is. Property owner Don Bishop voiced his concern that the task force has dedicated most of its time to analyzing a possible merger with Waynesville and not enough hours considering the possibility of incorporation. “It does seem on the outside that we are on the fasttrack to annexation,” Bishop said. Lake Junaluska has until early March to decide whether it wants to merge with Waynesville. That’s the deadline for introducing a bill in the state legislature. There won’t be another window for two years. If Lake Junaluska wants to incorporate, it has until November 2014 to decide and draft legislation asking the N.C. General Assembly to recognize it as a town. Because of the strict deadline associated with merger,
the task force did have to focus on ruling that option in or out first. “We are working toward that because we have that window,” said Buddy Young, a member of the task force and public works director for Lake Junaluska. Before endorsing a merger, the proposal must survive scrutiny from at least five entities — the task force, the Lake Junaluska Community Council, the Lake Junaluska Assembly board of directors, Waynesville’s Board of Alderman and a survey of property owners — before heading to the General Assembly. At any time, one of these groups could put the brakes on, Young said. But, Bishop reasoned that property owners will need as much information about both incorporation and the merger before they can pick which they prefer. Without adequate information about both, “How can we make a decision about those two options?” Bishop asked. Several property owners were also concerned that their opinion would not count because they are not full-time residents. In the event of incorporation, a formal election would be held on the issue. But only Lake Junaluska property owners who are registered to vote in the county could participate — in other words, those who
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The N.C. Department of Transportation will perform work on three tunnels in the Pigeon River Gorge on Interstate 40 in Haywood County during a two-week period starting Monday, Feb. 4. • Traffic reduced to a single lane at the tunnel on I-40 West between Exit 7 (Harmon Den) and Tennessee, and traffic through the tunnel on I-40 East will be re-routed on Feb. 4. • Traffic through the tunnel on I-40 East between Harmon Den and Tennessee will possibly be re-routed on Feb. 5. • Traffic reduced to single lane at the tunnel on I-40 East between Harmon Den and Exit 15 (Fines Creek) Feb. 5-6. www.ncdot.gov/travel.
Texting and driving awareness contest to offer scholarships The Melrose, Seago & Lay Law Firm will award two, one-time $1,500 scholarships to a Haywood County high school senior and a Jackson County senior during its first annual Words Can Kill Viral Video Scholarship Contest. Eligible students will submit a short video or PowerPoint focused upon educating other young people about the dangers of texting and driving by April 15. www.MountainVerdict.com or 800.222.2430 or email melrose@mountainverdict.com.
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Smoky Mountain News
live here year-round. An informal survey being conducted by the task force in mid-February will go to all property owners, however, giving them a chance to weigh in the three options — merger, incorporation or nothing. “We are trying to be inclusive of everyone,” said Ron Clauser, a Lake Junaluska resident and chairman of the task force. One property owner suggested that the task force hire a professional to help with the mail survey in order to garner a high rate of response. “Mail surveys are often very poorly done,” said resident Tom Hood. The logistical challenges of a forming its own town could make that option a non-starter. There must be at a minimum number of residents per square mile. Within three years of becoming a town, it must offer at minimum four of the following services: police, fire, trash, water, street lighting, street construction, zoning and street maintenance. And the services must be provided at a “reasonable rate.” For Lake Junaluska, that is the easy part though. The residential community of around 800 homes has a large enough population that is already offers at least four of the services (but would plan to add more) and charges a reasonable rate. Should it decide that it wants to incorporate, the real trick will be gathering enough support. Because Waynesville’s town limits are less than a mile from Lake Junaluska, Waynesville has to give its blessing by a three-fifths supermajority of the town board. Regardless of which option emerges on top, February will prove a critical month for the process.
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Tunnel projects to delay work on I-40
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Is Cashiers ABC store a sure bet? Sylva weighs whether to cast its lot with county’s new liquor store endeavors BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER s Jackson County officials craft plans to open a liquor store in Cashiers, possibly as soon this summer, they must first determine whether the town of Sylva is in or out. On one hand, a Cashiers store could hurt Sylva’s profits on its own liquor store — currently the only Alcoholic Beverage Control operation in the county. But if Sylva joins forces with the county, it could share in profits from the Cashiers store, should it prove successful. Currently, Sylva splits the profits of its own store with the county — so presumably the county would share some of its profits from a Cashiers store with Sylva, but exactly what the profit sharing percentage would look like has yet to be broached. Either way, the county commissioners have signaled they plan to form a Jackson County ABC board — the prerequisite to opening an
Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
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ABC store — by early March. “It’s fair to say we will have a board,” said County Manager Chuck Wooten. “There’s enough of a feeling among commissioners that a store is wanted in the Cashiers area, and the only way to get that is to have countywide board.” Whether that board is a cooperative board with Sylva, or the county’s own board, is to be determined. At the heart of Sylva’s conundrum is how much business a Cashiers store would steal away. Clearly, some liquor sales would simply be shifted from the Sylva store to a Cashiers store — resulting in no new revenue for either the county or town. As much as $300,000 in sales at the Sylva store comes from restaurants, bars and country clubs in Cashiers, which would shift to the new Cashiers store. To truly offset the overhead and operations of a second store, a Cashiers operation would have to pick up brand-new business — not just stealing Sylva’s sales — to make it a win-win. And that means attracting customers who otherwise get their liquor from somewhere else, such as Highlands in Macon County, said Mark Jones, the county commissioner representing Cashiers. Jones is even guilty himself of popping across county lines to Highlands’ liquor store. He is not alone. Jackson County residents spend an estimated thousand dollars per week at the Highlands’ ABC store. Many of the vacationers and second-home owners — who swell Cashier’s population to 10,000 in summer months — stock up before coming to the mountains. “You’re talking a lot of untapped revenue
for a new store, Roberson said. Ultimately, it’s a gamble of whether a new store could pay off in the end, however. “You have to look at what’s safest,” Roberson said. “With risk you stand to earn more, but you also stand to lose more.” Jones understands the concerns of Sylva representatives who are hesitant to enter into a contract that stands to hurt the town economically. To assuage the fears of Sylva lawmakers, he said he would consider forming a joint ABC board agreement that would guarantee Sylva’s profits from the ABC stores would not dip below a certain level for a set period of time. Even if that meant less money for the county, commissioners view an ABC store in the southern region of the county as not only a moneymaker but also a service to residents. County and town representatives have been holding small meetings to hash out the details of what a combined, or separate, board would look like. They hope to bring proposals Andrew Kasper photo before their respective boards in the coming weeks. During the past several years, money from The Sylva town board will discuss merging the local ABC store has provided about with a county ABC board at its next meeting $160,000 annually to Sylva’s coffers. Out of a on Feb. 7. town budget of about $3 million, losing the Sylva Alderman Harold Hensley, who has ABC distribution money while a new store not been in on the talks, said he is interested to finds its feet and customer base would have a hear any proposals, although his priority is prosignificant impact. tecting the revenues of the town budget. Also, Sylva would have a lot to offer in a joint with summer high season in Cashiers approachoperation. Its store has ample storage space for ing, the county is moving to have a store in place inventory and experienced staff and ABC in time to catch the influx of residents. board members who could offer advice to the “The county is wanting to move pretty county — from navigating the state’s ABC quick on their end,” Hensley said. “I just really computer software to shelf stocking strategies hope whatever they work out, our revenues — and help smooth over the transition period won’t get hit.”
County likely to take over reins of new Jackson economic commission
BY ANDREW KASPER STAFF WRITER lthough Jackson County’s Economic Development Commission has not met in several years, all its board members’ terms have expired and its director has longsince resigned, it technically still exists. Furthermore, its ghost stands in the way of the county’s plan to create another commission charged with similar goals but hopefully more effective. County officials plan to broach the issue of what to do about this empty shell of an Economic Development Commission still on the books at a joint meeting between county commissioners and town boards on Monday (Feb 4.) The four towns in the county — Sylva, Dillsboro, Webster and Forest Hills — helped create the now defunct economic commission. Thus, their blessing is needed to formally disband it. Once disbanded, county leaders have talked of recreating the board as a leaner, meaner economic machine. Under the old structure, each town had seat on the board. But the new board will most likely be a county entity only — made up of business leaders and residents appointed directly by county commissioners. And a new director, if one is hired, may answer directly to commissioners as well. County Manager Chuck Wooten said the new arrangement should be better for the county and allow for a more focused and responsive system than the old one. 14 “For a while, it lost its focus and emphasis,” Wooten said.
Smoky Mountain News
source out there,” Jones said. Sylva Town Manager Paige Roberson has questioned how long it would take a Cashiers store to become self-sustaining, and whether it would pick up enough new business to offset both the overhead and losses at Sylva’s store. If the town and county’s board are rolled into one, would the profits of the Sylva store will be dragged down by a struggling startup store, Roberson wondered.
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“The county put in a lot of the money but didn’t have as about having Sylva’s direct representation being written out much say.” of the process. As he put it, economic development conCounty Commissioner Mark Jones said he thought an trolled by the county would run more efficiently and would economic advisory board of five to seven members and an help the local municipalities anyway. economic development director, all answering to the county, Nonetheless, he said he saw the shortcomings in the prewould be more logical than the previous organization that involved all vious commission. He pointed out the local towns. Under the old structure, that towns like Forest Hills and “It probably makes sense for the Webster, although they had voting economic development to be under each town had seat on the seats on the board, weren’t ecothe county control,” Moody said. board. But the new board nomically driven communities. “You can get too many fingers in the Jones said it may be better to pie as the old saying goes.” will most likely be a county reserve advisory roles for the local When it comes to economic entity only — made up of municipalities but have a countydevelopment, he said Jackson run board make major decisions. County needs to approach it as if it is business leaders and resiThe board’s former power-sharing a competition with its neighbors and setup may have been the cause for should try to attract businesses and dents appointed directly by some of the problems and ill that visitors that might otherwise go to county commissioners. plagued it, Jones said. Bryson City or Waynesville. “The basic idea is to see if we The push for a new economic can restructure the EDC,” Jones said. “Because (the county) development initiative comes on the heels of an economic has bigger budgets to use and we could move forward with development report by a regional consulting firm. The counthis restructuring more efficiently.” ty contracted the firm to conduct an economic assessment of Jones said he would like to see the board focus on helping the county for more than $20,000. local businesses succeed and expand first, then on attracting Their report was published and presented to commisnew enterprise. Also, he said, it would be important for a new sioners this winter. The consultants recommended reconstiboard along with a director to pursue grants and other fundtuting the Economic Development Commission but county ing opportunities through the state and federal governments. commissioners had stated publicly for some time that they Sylva Mayor Maurice Moody said he had no qualms wanted to reconstitute it anyway.
A company hired by the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority has found a dozen businesses that have been evading a 4 percent lodging tax. The 4 percent tax is tacked onto the bill of overnights visitors — whether it’s a hotel, bed and breakfast or weekly cabin rental — and is supposed to be remitted back to the county. However, the TDA has struggled to bring some lodging owners into compliance. Either the lodging establishment is knowingly avoiding paying the tax to the county or is unaware of its responsibility to do collect it in the first place. To fix the problem, the tourism agency asked for the help of the Charlotte-based company Tax Management Associates, which created software that searches the Internet for vacation rentals in the county. People renting vacation homes and cabins under the radar are suspected as the biggest culprits. The company then cross-references its findings with a list of lodging owners who are currently paying lodging taxes. If the business is not listed, Tax Management Associates will investigate further. Lynn Collins, executive director of the TDA, told tourism board members last week that the company will soon start auditing the dozen renters to figure out how much each owes the county in lodging taxes. The company will receive 45 percent of taxes collected. The audit process includes contacting the
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The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority has launched a new website with information specifically for lodging owners. The tourism agency has a website geared toward tourists with information about things to do, places to stay and where to eat, but it never before had a site aimed at teaching lodging owners about the TDA. Hotel, motel and other lodging business owners had to contact the tourism authority office if they wanted the particulars about how the county’s 4 percent lodging tax is spent — which brings in almost $900,000 — or to find out when the TDA board was meeting or how to apply for grants. “This is just going to be information we can add in there for our partners,” said Lynn Collins, executive director of the TDA. “This is not the type of information you need on your visitors website.” But, it is a sort of knowledge that is
important to lodging owners, who are highly vested in the success of the TDA’s tourism marketing efforts. Thus, the TDA built a completely separate website (www.haywoodcountytourismdevelopment.com) to keep them informed. TDA employees hope that the website will make it easier for groups seeking grants from TDA money, or for lodging owners wondering how to remit the tax or how to register a new lodging business. Now, when a new cabin rental business opens in Maggie Valley, tourism agency employees can simply direct them to the site for everything they need to know. In addition to telling people what the TDA is, what it does and what their responsibilities as lodging owners are, pertinent tourism-related articles on topics such as new trends and social media advertising will also be posted to the site. A link to the new site will be placed on www.visitncsmokies.com and Haywood County’s webpage. The tourism agency is also redesigning its visitors website, which will revolve around the TDA’s “Homegrown in Haywood” campaign. “Homegrown in Haywood” will focus on advertising locally produced items, be it Sunburst Farm’s trout dip or handmade dulcimers. — By Caitlin Bowling
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Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
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business to obtain their rates and to see how long the owners have rented the place. From there, Tax Management Associates can calculate how much the county is owed in lodging tax as well as penalties for late payment. The company will go back as far as six years. Those renters must pay the full amount of taxes owed. However, lodging owners can appeal the late payment penalties to the county board of commissioners, but they must prove their case to get the fees reduced. “The burden of proof is on the property owner,” Collins said. Since becoming executive director of the tourism agency about five years ago, Collins said only one business has gone before the county commissioner to asked for a lesser penalty. Its fines for delinquent payments amounted to $85,000 — not including taxes owed, Collins said. The penalty was lowered to $25,000. “The majority of those (dozen) folks will appeal their penalty amounts,” Collins said. Since the commissioners may lessen the penalty amounts, Collins declined to give out any estimates of how much the TDA could receive from the newly discovered lodging establishments. Suffice it to say, Tax Management Associates’ finds will bring in “a good amount of money,” Collins said. — By Caitlin Bowling
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Audit finds vacation rentals dodging the lodging tax
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Opinion More than ever, schools need forest service money Smoky Mountain News
hen the 1911 Weeks Act was passed, allowing the federal W government to purchase land and create a national forest system in the eastern United States, an agreement was estab-
lished between the federal government and rural counties where those lands were purchased. This agreement allowed counties where national forests were created to share 25 percent of the revenues derived from timber harvests on the newly-designated national forest lands, revenue which the counties came to rely on to fund rural schools and services. When timber prices and harvest volumes both drastically declined in the 1990s, so did the monies generated by the revenue sharing agreement, and many counties found themselves facing a fiscal crisis. Congress responded by creating the bipartisan Secure Rural Schools Act in 2000 that guaranteed an annual payment that was de-linked from resource extraction, giving the counties funding regardless of how much timber was cut on the local national forest. The act was a first attempt to help counties transition to a more diverse economic base in the face of declining timber production to take advantage of changing economic opportunities that related to recreation, restoration, and conservation. For Western North Carolina, this represents
Last issue of SMN painted a vivid picture
To the Editor: How incredibly serendipitous that your newspaper of Jan. 23 should headline the flooding and landslides that occurred during the four days of local heavy rains while at the same time highlighting the ongoing review of the Jackson County Steep Slope Ordinance by the Jackson County Commissioners and the County Planning Committee. To add spice to the stew, the column by Mr. Don Hendershot (The Naturalist’s Corner) reported the cuts by the N.C. legislature to the landslide mapping program midway through its work in Jackson County, effectively ending that program and leaving the county without a credible evaluation of the slide risks to current and future homeowners and to infrastructure in our county. Mr. Hendershot indicated the resultant savings from those program cuts saved the state ($1.4 million) while also pointing out that the cost of landslide remediation from a single incident in Maggie Valley has already cost the state that same amount. Page 6 of the paper reported additional slides in Maggie Valley during the past week at Rich Cove (site of the original slide) and at the head of Soco. No casualties this time excepting a car and a few trees falling on a house. My sympathies to those suffering losses, especially the recently retired couple in Macon County who lost their home of one year to a slide. I would agree that completion of the landslide mapping project in Jackson County will do nothing for those already occupying potential slide sites, except perhaps to warn those occupants to be aware of the consequences of significant rain events in their locale. For those with plans to build, the map would serve to let those people know that alternative building sites might be
over $10 million in payments to counties since the act’s renewal in 2008, with the counties receiving the highest payments being Cherokee, Graham and Macon. For these three counties, each has received around $250,000 annually to fund their respective school systems as well as to fund community-approved projects on public lands. Though this may not seem a huge amount given the size of most county school budgets, it is nonetheless significant given that our state school budget Guest Columnist has been cut $1.7 billion in the last two years. With the expiration of the Secure Rural Schools Act coming up this year, rural schools are now again faced with the possibility of yet another financial hit. On Jan. 15, the U.S. Forest Service announced the release of 2012 funds for all counties nationwide, with the amount totaling $323 million dollars. North Carolina’s allocation was $1.9 million, with the great majority of that going to the rural counties of Western North Carolina. These funds were part of a one-year reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools program,
Brent Martin
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safer and much less expensive to them at some point in the future, especially in these “big storm” times. Whether the landslide mapping ever resumes in Jackson County is probably moot, but the results of recent weather events should certainly provide critical advice to the Jackson County Planning Committee as they evaluate the slope and cut/fill thresholds to be used in future home and infrastructure building decisions. Someone’s life may depend on it. Roy B. Osborn Cullowhee
Timber harvest at Devil’s Courthouse a good idea To the Editor: Nature abhors a vacuum. Mother Nature assures change. Organisms are constantly adapting, changing, improving, evolving. Understanding life cycles in nature assists man in many ways. We can collect water, grow vegetables, clear land, harvest timber, fish for food, hunt the wildlife and even recreate on our wild lands. Whatever “our” case may be, nature is constantly in motion, changing. Stop mowing your lawn and watch a small forest begin: berries, scrubby pines, locust trees, and soon, poplar trees. The forest grows on over a span of time. Our southern Appalachian mountain region naturally grows incredible hardwood trees of many varieties: red oak, white oak, chestnut, oak, hickory, tulip poplar, walnut, cherry, maples, ash, birch, basswood and so on. We are so blessed to live in this region of deciduous beauty. Our forest resources have tremendous beauty, but they also provide us with much bounty, and that must be respected, understood and included in forest management plans. All living things die. In death, there is life. We know that all living things have a life cycle, and
which was extended last July and which will expire in mid2013. Because of the current federal budget crisis, Congress has been considering alternate funding sources from the payments out of the federal treasury provided by Secure Rural Schools, but finding new funding sources in an age of tremendous fiscal shortfalls that do not jeopardize our clean water, wildlife, and public lands is a challenge. In the short term, Congress can create breathing room for communities that need these funds through an emergency extension and reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools program. A long-term solution can then, hopefully, be crafted and adopted with bipartisan support from Congress as well as the local and national stakeholders that the Secure Rural Schools Act has enjoyed support for over a decade. The immediate need in our rural communities for these funds and the risk of failing to extend a proven program is simply too great to delay any longer. Write Congressman Mark Meadows and urge him to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools Act. (Brent Martin is the Southern Appalachian Regional Director for The Wilderness Society in Sylva. He can be reached at brent_martin@tws.org.)
LETTERS then they will die. Managing forests requires many different approaches to handling varying ages of forest sections. The United States Forest Service is charged with managing our federal lands for multiple uses: timber, water, wildlife and recreation. Each of these objectives is carefully weighed and included in plans for our forestlands. Man can mimic natural death by timing timber harvest carefully and with full intention for each treatment area. The resource professionals allow science to direct their action, and timber management should be included in the tool belt of prescriptions, along with forest thinnings, prescribed fire, use of herbicides to eradicate invasive species and so on ... all options should be left on the table. To preserve something is to save it. A passive land management approach allows nature to take hold as it will. Man has a minimal impact on the environment and takes a hands-off attitude. To preserve the land is to lock it up and leave it. A museum mentality has taken over our national forest policy: “you can look, but not touch.” I think man should wisely use and respect our renewable resources and be encouraged to keep these large land tracts in timber rotations, rather than converting them out of a forest-use, rarely to grow trees again once paved. Conserving the resource allows us to use the bounty, sustainably, and with an eye for the next generation, leaving the land more productive and better than before. Disturbance happens. Ice, wind, fire, tornados, flooding, hurricanes, typhoons, and hail are a few natural events that wreak havoc for man on earth. Disturbances will always occur. The early Native Americans would slash and burn forests, to manage the land for their lifestyle and kept the understory growth down with prescribed fires to
encourage wildlife proliferation. Man has always worked to tame the land. Modern-day timber harvest can mimic these natural disturbances, while growing jobs, creating American-made products, and providing year-round revenue for our local economies, sustainably and perpetually. Waste not, want not. Wood is good. Trees are the gifts that keep giving. During their growing life, they provide shade, fruits and foods for man and creature alike, and provide immense beauty to our mountains. With a common-sense and pragmatic approach to land management, trees can be harvested to enjoy a whole new life of giving: in the form of a handmade generational piece of fine furniture to be coveted and passed down within a family line. Perhaps the trees will be used to fashion hardwood floors in a home to also last another lifetime. Wood is good, renewable, and can be managed in perpetuity. Please do not lock up these resources, because to watch them grow and die without using and enjoying them is a true waste of their many gifts. We need wood. With carefully planned timber harvests, brand-new money is created by taking a raw material and converting it into lumber. From there it grows into heirloom furniture, fine homes, hardwood flooring, and so on. The “leftovers” from sawdust, mulch, and chips make all sorts of items we need: juice containers, envelopes, cardboard, pressed board items, paper products etc. The “resins” go into hairspray, glues, steering wheels, spray paints and crayons. Even aspirin and ice cream contain wood products! We need wood, and trees can infinitely provide us with value-added products using carefully planned management approaches. Please allow the United States Forest Service to move forward with the project at Devil’s Courthouse. Please do not impede our natural resource professionals from actively managing
our forestlands, now or in the future. Susan Fletcher Candler
We need to keep track of all firearms To the Editor: I miss Martin Luther King. His enlightened reason and fervent advocating for equal rights is sorely missed. Unfortunate that a man with a gun chose to end his life. Make no mistake about it, there have always been people who selfishly and self-centeredly would have us believe their rights should be paid for by other people’s blood and or expense. In the case of those schoolchildren from Newtown, in no way, shape or form can any person not bereft of moral attributes or rational logic conclude their deaths were the cost of liberty and its equal protection thereof, let alone gun ownership. In the application of our naturally inherent or inalienable civil rights, the only person who bears the cost is the person duly engaged in such application. No one else bears any direct burden. However, there is a cost of liberty: eternal vigilance. This requires informed knowledge more than just personal opinion. The latest Supreme Court decision regarding private ownership of guns can be found at www.supremecourt.gov/-opinions/09pdf/081521.pdf. While reaffirming the right to private ownership of guns for self defense, the justices also re-affirmed our government’s interest in
regulating such application: “It is important to keep in mind that Heller, while striking down a law that prohibited the possession of handguns in the home, recognized the that the right to keep and bear arms is not ‘a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever, and for any purpose …’ We made it clear in Heller that our holding did not cast doubt on such longstanding regulatory measures as ‘prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill,’ ‘laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms …’ We repeat those assurances here. Despite municipal respondents’ doomsday proclamations, incorporation (by the 14th Amendment) does not imperil every law regulating firearms.” While our founders were forced to modify their own liberal embrace of the deistic notion of naturally inherent rights and the equal protection thereof, they gave to their posterity the means to correct their error. No other country has accomplished such a radical embrace of liberal principles. None. Nor has any other country so entrusted their citizens to make their own decisions while reserving their right to remedy once harm has been done, like, gee, I don’t know, a self-closing garage door that kills a child. Just as we the people require proper licensing and or restrictions for our vehicles, so too should we for our guns. Every gun should have a traceable title. Even the ones I own. Chuck Zimmerman Waynesville
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Thursday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. FridaySaturday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Blue Ridge BBQ is a family owned and operated restaurant. The BBQ is slow hardwood smoked, marinated in its own juices, and seasoned with mountain recipes. All menu items made from scratch daily. Featuring homemade cornbread salad, fresh collard greens, or cornbread and milk at your request. Old-fashioned homemade banana pudding and fruit cobbler of the season. Catering, take-out, eat-in. blueridgebbq@gmail.com. BLUE ROOSTER SOUTHERN GRILL 207 Paragon Parkway, Clyde, Lakeside Plaza at the old Wal-Mart. 828.456.1997. Monday-Friday 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friendly and fun family atmosphere. Local, handmade Southern cuisine. Fresh-cut salads; slowsimmered soups; flame grilled burgers and steaks, and homemade signature desserts. Blue-plates and local fresh vegetables daily. Brown bagging is permitted. Private parties, catering, and take-out available. Call-ahead seating available. BOGART’S 35 East Main St., Sylva. 828.586.6532. Sunday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Serving classic American food and drink in a casual environment. Daily lunch and dinner specials. Children’s menu available. Call for catering quotes. Private room available for large parties. Accepts MC/Visa, Discover and American Express.
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tasteTHEmountains BOURBON BARREL BEEF & ALE 454 Hazelwood Ave., Waynesville, 828.452.9191. Dinner nightly from 4 p.m. Closed on Sunday. We specialize in hand-cut, all natural steaks, fresh fish, and other classic American comfort foods that are made using only the finest local and sustainable ingredients available. We also feature a great selection of craft beers from local artisan brewers, and of course an extensive selection of small batch bourbons and whiskey. The Barrel is a friendly and casual neighborhood dining experience where our guests enjoy a great meal without breaking the bank. HERREN HOUSE 94 East St., Waynesville 828.452.7837. Lunch: Wednesday - Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday Brunch 11 a. m. to 2 p.m. Enjoy fresh local products, created daily. Join us in our beautiful patio garden. We are your local neighborhood host for special events: business party’s, luncheons, weddings, showers and more. Private parties & catering are available 7 days a week by reservation only. CITY BAKERY 18 N. Main St. Waynesville 828.452.3881. Monday-Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Join us in our historic location for scratch made soups and daily specials. Breakfast is made to order daily: Gourmet cheddar & scallion biscuits served with bacon, sausage and eggs; smoked salmon bagel plate; quiche and fresh fruit parfait. We bake a wide variety of breads daily, specializing in traditional french breads. All of our breads are hand shaped. Lunch: Fresh salads, panni sandwiches. Enjoy outdoor dinning on the deck. Private room available for meetings. CITY LIGHTS CAFE Spring Street in downtown Sylva. 828.587.2233. Open Monday-Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tasty, healthy and quick. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, espresso, beer and wine. Come taste the savory and sweet crepes, grilled paninis, fresh, organic salads, soups and more. Outside patio seating. Free Wi-Fi, pet-friendly. Live music and lots of events. Check the web calendar at citylightscafe.com. CORK AND BEAN 16 Everett St., Bryson City. 828.488.1934. Open Monday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Enjoy organic, fair-trade, gourmet espresso and coffees, a select, eclectic list of wines, and locally prepared treats to go with every thing. Come by early and enjoy a breakfast crepe with a latte, grab a grilled chicken pesto crepe for lunch, or wind down with a nice glass of red wine. Visit us on Facebook! CORK & CLEAVER 176 Country Club Drive, Waynesville. 828.456.7179. Reservations recommended. 4:30-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Tucked away inside Waynesville Inn, Cork & Cleaver has an approachable menu designed around locally sourced, sustainable, farm-to-table ingredients. Executive Chef Corey Green prepares innovative and unique Southern fare from local, organic vegetables grown in Western North Carolina. Full bar and wine cellar. www.waynesvilleinn.com.
CORNERSTONE CAFÉ 1092 N. Main Street, Waynesville. 828.452.4252. Open Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fresh meats purchased daily, great homemade breakfast, burgers made to order. Comfortable and friendly atmosphere, with curb service available. Make lunch easy and call ahead for to go orders. COUNTRY VITTLES: FAMILY STYLE RESTAURANT 3589 Soco Rd, Maggie Valley. 828.926.1820 Open Daily 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., closed Tuesday. Family Style at Country Vittles is not a buffet. Instead our waitresses will bring your food piping hot from the kitchen right to your table and as many refills as you want. So if you have a big appetite, but sure to ask your waitress about our family style service. FRANKIE’S ITALIAN TRATTORIA 1037 Soco Rd. Maggie Valley. 828.926.6216 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Father and son team Frank and Louis Perrone cook up dinners steeped in Italian tradition. With recipies passed down from generations gone by, the Perrones have brought a bit of Italy to Maggie Valley. frankiestrattoria.com FROGS LEAP PUBLIC HOUSE 44 Church St. Downtown Waynesville 828.456.1930 Serving lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, Sunday lunch and dinner from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Mondays. Frogs Leap is a farm to table restaurant focused on local, sustainable, natural and organic products prepared in modern regional dishes. Seasonal menu focuses on Southern comfort foods with upscale flavors. Come for the restaurant’s 4 @ 4 when you can choose a center and three sides at special prices. Offered WedFri. from 4 to 6. frogsleappublichouse.org. GUADALUPE CAFÉ 606 W. Main Street, Sylva. 828.586.9877. Open 7 days a week at 5 p.m. Located in the historic Hooper’s Drugstore, Guadalupe Café is a chef-owned and operated restaurant serving Caribbean inspired fare complimented by a quirky selection of wines and microbrews. Supporting local farmers of organic produce, livestock, hand-crafted cheese, and using sustainably harvested seafood. J. ARTHUR’S RESTAURANT AT MAGGIE VALLEY U.S. 19 in Maggie Valley. 828.926.1817. Lunch Sunday noon to 2:30 p.m., dinner nightly starting at 4:30 p.m. World-famous prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, gorgonzola cheese and salads. All ABC permits and open year-round. Children always welcome. Take-out menu. Excellent service and hospitality. Reservations appreciated. JUKEBOX JUNCTION U.S. 276 and N.C. 110 intersection, Bethel. 828.648.4193. 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Serving breakfast, lunch, nd dinner. The restaurant has a 1950s & 60s theme decorated with memorabilia from that era. LOS AMIGOS 366 Russ Ave. in the Bi-Lo Plaza. 828.456.7870. Open from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and 5 to 10 p.m. for
tasteTHEmountains dinner Monday through Friday and 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy the lunch prices Monday through Sunday, also enjoy our outdoor patio. MAD BATTER BAKERY & CAFÉ Located on the WCU Campus in Cullowhee. 828.293.3096. Open Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Earthfriendly foods at people-friendly prices. Daily specials, wraps, salads, pastries, breads, soups and more. Unique fare, friendly service, casual atmosphere and wireless Internet. Organic ingredients, local produce, gourmet fair trade and organic coffees. MAGGIE VALLEY CLUB 1819 Country Club Dr., Maggie Valley. 828.926.1616. maggievalleyclub.com/dine. Open daily for lunch and dinner. Fine and casual fireside dining in welcoming atmosphere. Full bar. Reservations accepted. MILL & MAIN 462 W. Main St., Sylva. 828.586.6799. Serving lunch and dinner. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Pizza, pasta, outstanding homemade desserts, plus full lunch and dinner menus. All ABC permits. Take-out menus available. MOONSHINE GRILL 2550 Soco Road, Maggie Valley loacted in the Smoky Falls Lodge. 828.926.7440. Open Wednesday through Saturday, 4:30 to 9 p.m. Cooking up mouth-watering, wood-fired Angus steaks, prime rib and scrumptious fresh
seafood dishes. The wood-fired grill gives amazing flavor to every meal that comes off of it. Enjoy creative dishes made using moonshine. Stop by and simmer for a while and soak up the atmosphere. The best kept secret in Maggie Valley. themoonshinegrill.com MOUNTAIN PERKS ESPRESSO BAR & CAFÉ 9 Depot St., Bryson City. 828.488.9561. Open Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. With music at the Depot. Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Life is too short for bad coffee. We feature wonderful breakfast and lunch selections. Bagels, wraps, soups, sandwiches, salads and quiche with a variety of specialty coffees, teas and smoothies. Various desserts. OLD STONE INN 109 Dolan Road, off Love Lane. 828.456.3333. Classic fireside dining in an historic mountain lodge with cozy, intimate bar. Dinner served nightly except Sunday from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Signature dinner choices include our 8oz. filet of beef in a brandied peppercorn sauce and a garlic and herb crusted lamb rack. Carefully selected fine wines and beers plus full bar available. Open year round. Call for reservations. PASQUALE’S 1863 South Main Street, Waynesville. Off exit 98, 828.454.5002. Opend for lunch and dinner seven days a week. Classic Italian dishes, exceptional steaks and seafood (available in full and lighter sizes), thin crust pizza, homemade soups, salads hand tossed at your
table. Fine wine and beer selection. Casual atmosphere, dine indoor, outside on the patio or at the bar. Reservations appreciated. PATIO BISTRO 30 Church Street, Waynesville. 828.454.0070. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Breakfast bagels and sandwiches, gourmet coffee, deli sandwiches for lunch with homemade soups, quiches, and desserts. Wide selection of wine and beer. Outdoor and indoor dining.
years. Serving hand-tossed pizza made to order, pasta, subs, gourmet salads, calzones and seafood. Also serving excellent prime rib on Thursdays. Dine in or take out available. Located across from the Fire Station. TAP ROOM SPORTS BAR & GRILL 176 Country Club Dr. Waynesville 828.456.5988. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week. Enjoy soups, sandwiches, salads and hearty appetizers along with a full bar menu in our casual, smoke-free neighborhood grill.
RENDEZVOUS RESTAURANT AND BAR Maggie Valley Inn and Conference Center 828.926.0201 Bar open Monday thru Saturday; dining room open Tuesday thru Saturday at 5 p.m. Full service restaurant serving steaks, prime rib, seafood and dinner specials. Live music Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
THE TIKI HOUSE SEAFOOD & OYSTER BAR 2723 Soco Road, Maggie Valley. 828.944.0445. Fresh seafood made to order. Oysters raw, steamed, or fried. Hand-cut steaks. Live music, cocktails, pet-friendly patio dining with a nice fountain. Friday patio music starts at 7 p.m. and Saturday night after dinner. Live bands and a dance floor.
SOUL INFUSION TEA HOUSE & BISTRO 628 E. Main St. (between Sylva Tire & UPS). 828.586.1717. Tuesday-Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday noon -until. Scrumptious, natural, fresh soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps and desserts. 60+ teas served hot or cold, black, chai, herbal. Seasonal and rotating draft beers, good selection of wine. HomeGrown Music Network Venue with live music most weekends. Pet friendly and kid ready.
THE WINE BAR 20 Church Street, downtown Waynesville. 828.452.6000. Underground cellar for wine and beer, served by the glass all day. Cheese and tapas served Wednesday through Saturday 4 p.m.-9 p.m. or later. info@classicwineseller.com. Also on facebook and twitter.
SPEEDY’S PIZZA 285 Main Street, Sylva. 828.586.3800. Open seven days a week. Monday-Friday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Saturday 3 p.m.-11 p.m., Sunday 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Family-owned for 30
VITO’S PIZZA 607 Highlands Rd., Franklin. 828.369.9890. Our Pizza dough, sauce, meatballs, and sausage are all made from scratch by Vito. The recipes have been in the family for 50 years. Each Pizza is hand tossed and made with TLC. You're welcome to watch your pizza being created.
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Smoky Mountain News
STEREOTYPING
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THE ART
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Have Southerners gotten a fair shake from pop culture? BY GARRET K. WOODWARD STAFF WRITER Times may change, but stereotypes tend to linger. Venturing into the off-color humor and often offensive images of Southern culture portrayed by cartoonists throughout American history, Western Carolina University will address the issue head-on in its newest exhibit opening next week. “Comic Stripped: A Revealing Look At Southern Stereotypes In Cartoons” will open at the Mountain Heritage Center Feb. 7 and run through mid-May. The traveling showcase was created by the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte. “This provides a fun way to explore a serious subject — how public perception has historically been shaped and continues to be influenced by mass media, how stereotypes can sometimes be true and sometimes misleading,” said Pam Meister, curator at the Mountain Heritage Center. “Visitors will enjoy the wit and humor of this exhibit while coming away with some new insights into their own perceptions of ‘Southern.’” Cartoon images of the South, for good or ill, have been a mainstay in the pop culture history of this country. The displays ranges from the Thomas Nast drawings for Harper’s Magazine, which shaped American’s perception of the South following the Civil War and during Reconstruction, to Snuffy Smith to Kudzu and the eccentric array of characters in the adult cartoon sitcom “King of the Hill.” “Stereotypes help shape the way we see the South, whether we see it as a land of nature and tradition or the land of moonshine,” said Dr. Tom Hanchett, staff historian and curator of the exhibit at the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte. “Whether you grew up with Lil’ Abner and Pogo, or with today’s ‘King of the Hill,’ I think you will be surprised by the power of their Southern images.” Southerners are chronically painted as simpletons, an image that persisted into modern pop culture with “King of the Hill,” boasting beer swigging men in white undershirts with Southern drawls, often engaged in banal conversations while standing around their trucks or riding mowers. Meister first came across the exhibit in her previous role as the executive director of the Upcounty History Museum in Greenville, S.C. She was impressed with Hanchett’s work in putting the theme together. It was a popular showcase when it came to Greenville, something Meister knew would transition well to the audience in Western North Carolina.
WANT TO GO? “Comic Stripped: A Revealing Look At Southern Stereotypes In Cartoons” will open Feb. 7 at the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee and run through May 14. The center is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and until 7 p.m. on Thursday. The exhibit is a free and open to the public. 828.227.7129.
“One of the things I like best is that it speaks both to native Southerners and to newcomers to our region, and that both adults and children enjoy and relate to it,” she said. “So many visitors recognize old favorites while young visitors enjoy interactive stations that encourage them to explore their ideas about Southern stereotypes.” The exhibit is comprised of loaned original art and artifacts, including rare vintage comic books and memorabilia. There’s an authentic moonshine jug, a comical hillbilly coat and hat worn in parades by the “Hillbilly Clan” of the Shrine Club, collections of the artwork from Snuffy Smith creator Billy De Beck, and background art and storyboards for an episode of “King of the Hill” that explores youth and religion in the Bible Belt today, amongst other items. “Exhibits like this illustrate how much we are affected by popular culture,” said Christopher Cooper, professor of political science and public affairs at WCU. “Public opinion isn’t just affected by schools, families, and friends, but also by media, both high brow and low brow. A full understanding of public opinion requires a serious consideration of popular culture.” Meister is looking forward to seeing how others interact and react to the exhibit. For her, it’s about the younger generation of students, and the public at large, being able to compare and contrast the views they, and others from around the country, have of the South. “As a native Southerner, who has spent most of my life in the South, but also worked in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., I can testify that many people
still believe traditional stereotypes of Southerners,” she said. “‘Comic Stripped’ uses the larger issues of class, race and cultural heritage in a fun, accessible way, and allows visitors to think about their own perceptions and stereotypes in a series of clever interactive stations located throughout the exhibit.” Cooper notes that though a lot has been written about the “Southernization of America” or the “Americanization of the South,” there is a general belief that the South is becoming more and more like the rest of the country. “I’m particularly looking forward to seeing how these stereotypes have changed over time, as I believe that popular culture affects what we believe about a variety of political and social phenomena,” he said. Cooper said he particularly interested in the political consequences of being perceived as a Southerner. He hopes students go to the exhibit and ask themselves to consider how these depicted stereotypes affect Southern politics and Southern candidates running for national office. He points to Bill Clinton or Newt Gingrich as prime examples of a “Southern candidate” and how they were viewed in the minds of the country. Cooper asks if certain barriers existed that each could have faced, were there also benefits from being a Southerner, too? “Southerners still identify with the region in large numbers and the media still tends to portray the South as somewhat distinct from the rest of the country,” Cooper said. “The examples may not be as stark as Snuffy Smith or Andy Griffith, but they do remain and certainly help paint a picture of the South for many in and outside of the region.”
Kudzu, a popular comic strip created by artist Doug Marlette (below), was the first major Southern comic strip to be originated by a native Southerner. His work, alongside numerous other cartoonists, will be featured in “Comic Stripped: A Revealing Look At Southern Stereotypes In Cartoons”, the latest exhibit in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University. Image donated
f Theatrical productions of “Struggle for Freedom” and “George Washington Carver and Friends” will be put on for local school students at 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6, in the Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center at Western Carolina University. Bright Star Touring Theatre, a national professional touring theatre company based in Asheville, is also taking the production to students in Swain County in during February, which is recognized as Black History Month. The Jackson County Arts Council is accepting donations that will go toward these performances and the cost of bussing the students to and from the productions. “Struggle for Freedom” seeks to honor the American Civil Rights Movement by celebrating key moments of the struggle. The life and work of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. provides the backdrop to scenes that recreate the
Montgomery bus boycott, the March on Washington, the Woolworth Sit-ins and much more. “George Washington Carver and Friends” offers fast-paced and accessible introduction to many influential black Americans who have shaped our nation over the last 150 years, including the lives and accomplishments of Booker T. Washington, Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, Madame C.J. Walker, and other famous leaders. Bright Star Touring Theatre serves nearly 1,000 audiences annually with a variety of programs ranging from Heroes of the Underground Railroad to Aesop’s Fables. The company is committed to providing professional theatre to audiences at an affordable and all-inclusive rate. 828.507.9820 or www.jacksoncountyarts.org.
HART makes big leaps in theater fundraising Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville has raised $160,000 since last summer in a capital campaign to build a second theater. The total price tag of the second facility is $950,000. The second theater, which is only in preliminary conception stages, would be midsized — big enough for full scale productions, but not as big as their current main stage auditorium. It would seat 150-180, compared to the current mainstage, which seats 250. The possibilities range from small plays to dinner theater, drama camps to acting classes, cabaret to wedding receptions. It seems the avenues of potential are endless. It also allows two plays to run simultaneously, rather than ending a successful run, even if it is continuing to sell out, just because the next show has come up on the schedule, according to Steven
Lloyd, executive director at HART. HART has an economic footprint on the community of $2.4 million dollars a year, with Stage II aimed to double that, according to an economic impact formula developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Americans for the Arts. HART has smaller “backstage” theater styled after an upclose theater-in-the-halfround. It seats up to 70 people, mostly used for the winter theater series. “It’ll look hugely successful because you come in and can’t find a seat. But, if we did it on the main stage, it would look like a failure,” Lloyd said. “We need that middle facility to fit that audience.” In 2012, the progress of the theatre evolved into a semi-professional community theatre, producing five studio shows and six main stage shows, plus a new production of “A Christmas Carol.” 828.456.6322 or harttheater@gmail.com or www.harttheatre.com.
arts & entertainment
Theater troupe brings Civil Rights to life for Jackson students
Want to learn printmaking? The Art League of the Smokies will be holding a “Printmaking with linoleum and rubber blocks” workshop from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, at the Swain County Center for the Arts in Bryson City. Hosted by multimedia artists Jeff Marley from Cherokee, participants will learn how to print at home using simple printmaking methods without a press or solvents. Processes covered will include linoleum block printing, rubber block printing, and making stamps from rubber blocks and gum erasers. Sponsored by the NC Arts Council, Swain County Center for the Arts and Swain County Schools. Registration and supply fee of $25 is required in advance. 828.488.7843 or www.swain.k12.nc.us/cfta.
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Onlooker John Highsmith takes a gander at “Blue Heron,” the latest metal sculpture from Grace Cathey at the “Fire & Ice: Pottery, Glass and Metalwork” gallery reception on Jan. 27 at the Haywood County Arts Council in Waynesville. The show celebrates the heating and cooling process involved in the making of pottery, glass and metal work. It will be displayed until Feb. 9. Viewing the exhibit is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Garret K. Woodward photo
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‘Alice in Wonderland’ hits the stage in Franklin Overlook Theatre Company will kickoff their upcoming musical production of “Alice in Wonderland” with Alice’s Mad Tea Party at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, at the Smoky Mountain Center for Performing Arts in Franklin. Meet the characters from Lewis Carol’s classic book, Alice in Wonderland. Play games and enjoy refreshments with Alice and all of her Wonderland friends. Dress for the event in the wackiest of wearables and happiest of hats. Advance purchase recommended. Tickets are $7. www.GreatMountainMusic.com or 866.273.4615.
Show(s) subject to change or cancellation. Must be 21 years of age or older to enter casino floor and to gamble. Know When To Stop Before You Start.® Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-522-4700. An Enterprise of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. ©2013, Caesars License Company, LLC.
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Want to learn to square dance?
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The Pisgah Promenaders Square Dance Club will host beginning square dance lessons from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, at the Old Armory in Waynesville. Marty Northrup, well-known regional caller, will be the instructor. No experience is required. The lessons are appropriate for people ages 18 years old and older. The class is a 15-week course. The first two classes are free, with a cost of $65 per person to complete the course. 828.586.8416 or 828.586.1640.
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Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
Charity cornhole tournament in Canton
HAYWOOD COUNTY: Thank you for all your support through the years. 72180
Lee Starnes 38 S. Main St. • Waynesville
828-456-9471 22
There will be a doubles cornhole tournament to benefit the Tye Blanton Foundation at noon on Saturday, Feb. 9, in the Canton Armory. This is a double elimination tournament with cash prizes for first, second and third ranging from $100 to $350 in the main doubles division and gift certificates and gift sets for the women’s doubles division. Bags will be available, but players may use their own bags as well. There will be food and beverages for sale along with Tye Blanton Foundation merchandise. The Tye Blanton Foundation was founded in memory of the premature baby of N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper Shawn Blanton, who was shot and killed in the line of duty in Haywood County. The foundation supports babies and families in the NICU at Mission Hospital and also works in close affiliation with the American Red Cross (hosting quarterly blood drives), March of Dimes (hosting March for Babies walk and working with the annual gala and other events) and the Mission Children’s Hospital Radiothon. Registration begins at 11 a.m. Cost is $40 per team. Onsite registration welcome. The armory is located at 71 Penland Street. nlowe642@yahoo.com or www.tyeblanton.org.
Mardi Gras ball to benefit Macon Humane Society A “Mardi Paws Fur Ball” will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Mill Creek Country Club Banquet Hall in Franklin as a benefit for the Macon County Humane Society. A festive Mardi Gras themed evening will help beat the winter blues and raise money for animals. The evening will include food, cocktails, dancing, a live auction and more to keep your tail wagging all night long. Tickets are $50 per person and are available at the Franklin Chamber of Commerce, Humane Society Thrift Shop and Macon County Humane Society.
arts & entertainment
‘MOONSHINERS’ CAST DROPS INTO WAYNESVILLE The cast of Discovery Channel’s “Moonshiners” stopped by the Waynesville Elks Lodge on Jan. 25 as part of a fundraiser hosted by the nonprofit Dixie Beard and Moustache Society. The benefit raised over $2,600 for charity, which included Warrior Service Dogs, a nonprofit that trains service dogs for disabled veterans. Popular Robbinsville country group My Highway provided the music. Garret K. Woodward photo
Rebecca Porche
HCC craft student wins national award
all ages and experience levels are invited to take part in the jam sessions. The first Thursday series will through spring, with upcoming events to feature Locust Honey on March 7 and Phil and Gaye Johnson on April 4. The events are free and open to the public. 828.227.7129.
Whitewater Bluegrass
Whitewater Bluegrass Co. to host jam series
Renowned blind pianist comes to WNC Alma Russ
13-year-old performer to showcase fiddle, guitar, banjo and vocals Bluegrass and old-time musician Alma Russ will give a free show at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva.
Pianist Gordon Mote will be in concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin. Mote was born totally blind and faced many obstacles as a young boy. His family stood strong in their faith in God and always put Christ at the center of their lives, which made a huge impact on Mote’s life. He has received eight nominations for “Piano/Keyboard Player of the Year” by the Academy of Country Music, winning the award in 2009 and 2011. Tickets start at $12 each. www.GreatMountainMusic.com or 866.273.4615.
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Whitewater Bluegrass Co. will give a short performance followed by an “Old-Time and Bluegrass Jam Session” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, in the Mountain Heritage Center at Western Carolina University. Each month, a different band from WNC hosts the picking session, held the first Thursday of the month at the Mountain Heritage Center. Whitewater Bluegrass Co., based in Asheville, has been entertaining throughout the Southeast for more than three decades with its blend of bluegrass, country ballads, mountain swing and down-home humor. Performance starts at 7 p.m. followed by an 8 p.m. jam session. Pickers and singers of
The concert will feature Russ on fiddle, guitar and banjo, with vocals while playing the guitar and banjo. Her style of music encompasses bluegrass, old-time mountain music and folk music, with a few eclectic song choices thrown into the mix. Russ is 13-yearsold and has been singing for most of that time. Only in the last three years has she begun to incorporate instrumentation along with her singing. She has played with Heritage Alive, Dusk Weaver and the Lifeway Community Church worship band. 828.586.2016.
Haywood Community College Professional Crafts Fiber student Rebecca Porche is the recipient of the Handweavers Guild of America’s Dendel Scholarship for 2012. While Porche already had a Bachelor’s degree in Interior Design and has studied at the Penland School of Crafts and Arrowmont School of Art and Craft, she came to HCC to continue studying fiber arts. “I chose to come to HCC because the program is very focused in the craft as well as being business oriented,” Porche said. “It is important for me to be able to make a living doing this. I heard great things about the program at HCC and about people succeeding in their fields after graduation.” After graduation in May, she plans to establish a business selling scarves, naturally dyed handbags and showpieces in Western North Carolina. While at HCC, she furthered her craft, as well as honing a business plan for becoming a professional artist. “This program is versatile. You can make utilitarian pieces such as scarves or show pieces. There are lots of possibilities,” Porche added. “As a student having full access to looms and the dye room opens up new opportunities.” Porche says her connection to fiber is nostalgic. “There is life where the fiber came from whether it is plant or animal. Weaving allows you to be a part of an old process. And it is magical to see a piece come together before your eyes,” she said.
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Smoky Mountain News Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
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Books
Smoky Mountain News
Kerouac still matters, though the perspective has shifted f all the Beat writers of the 1940s and 1950s — Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, John Clellon Holmes, Gary Snyder, and others — it is Jack Kerouac who most fascinates post-millennial readers. His works remain in print; he has inspired several biographies and has served as a central character in different memoirs; his best-known novel, On The Road, was released in 2012 as a movie. Like Hemingway or Fitzgerald, he is one of those American writers whose life often seems larger than his work, a figure of romance, a legend. In The Voice Is All: The Lonely Victory of Jack Kerouac (ISBN 978-0-670-02510-7, 2012, $32.95), Joyce Johnson, novelist, chronicler of the Beats, and once Kerouac‘s lover, gives readers an in-depth psychological study of Kerouac’s early life: Writer his birth and youth in Lowell, Mass.; his years as a student, culminating as a dropout from Columbia; his spotty service during the Second World War; his wanderings back and forth across the country with Neil Cassady and other restless drifters; his apprenticeship as a writer. Johnson ends her book with Kerouac’s breakthrough work that would soon win him fame: On the Road and parts of Visions of Cody. The Voice Is All isn’t simply a rehashing of the facts of Kerouac’s life. (One flaw in the book, however, is the lack of dates; readers unacquainted with Kerouac’s life will often wonder what year certain events are taking place.) Perhaps more than any of its predecessors, including Johnson’s own Minor
Jeff Minick
O
Characters: A Beat Memoir, The Voice Is All intimately explores Kerouac’s conflicted allegiance to his French-Canadian roots and to his contemporaries, his various sexual relation-
literature, philosophy, and religion, Johnson, as other reviewers have noted, brings Kerouac to life on the page. About midway through The Voice Is All, however, the frenetic Kerouac and his friends, particularly Neil Cassidy, jumping not just from place to place but from idea to idea, reminds us of his immaturity both as a writer and as a person . Some of us, even those who read and loved Kerouac’s novels and poetry in our youth, may even begin to grow annoyed with this young man, this fledgling writer who skims the surfaces of ideas, of Catholic and Eastern religion, who seems now to his older readers puerile in his fancies and attractions. Despite some of Kerouac’s attractive features — his fascination with America, his good looks, his excitement, his spontaneous prose — we find in Johnson’s biography a portrait which may well be unintended, a painting of a writer limited both by his intelligence and by his addictions. Kerouac and several of his associates, even the world-weary Burroughs, come across as men — they are all men — who are incapable of growing up, of maturity, of adulthood. Johnson’s lists of Kerouac’s bed partners, his often inane comments about everything from nature to God to the The Voice Is All: The Lonely Victory of Jack Kerouac American soul, his drinking and the by Joyce Johnson. Viking Adult, 2012. 512 pages. general disarray of his personal life, force us to see him as a perpetual ships, his fears about the value of his own teenager, a boy who never really grew into early literary efforts, his strange, tangled relamanhood. After reading The Voice Is All, and tionship with his mother. By describing in then perusing the pages of Kerouac’s work detail Kerouac’s moods, his swings from dhar- read when one was 20 or 25 years old, the ma bum to deep depression, his dabbling in adult fan of Kerouac may decide that he is a
Ken Wilson Ford Welcomes
writer for teenagers and their fantasies, not for adults. Kerouac himself tried for the last part of his life to shrug off his association both with the Beats and with their young followers. In 1957, at the age of 35, Kerouac, Johnson tells us, “would write in his diary that what he really thought was that the Beat Generation had ceased to exist … Soon to be crowned the King of the Beats by the media, he would find himself in the unhappy position of having to represent an old idea whose new meaning he didn’t believe in, which was ironically inspiring widespread imitation as a superficially available lifestyle.” In Big Sur, Kerouac would write that “all over America high school and college kids thinking ‘Jack Duluoz is 26-yearsold and on the road all the time hitch hiking’ while there I am almost 40 years old, bored and jaded in a roomette bunk.” What is significant in this last quotation is that Kerouac, like so many of his admirers, confuses the real with the fictional. He seeks to criticize his fans for making this mistake, but he himself falls into the same trap by the wording of his critique. Because of his autobiographical methods, and perhaps because of his intense self-absorption, he himself cannot separate fact from myth and legend, the truth of what he was from fiction he had created. Johnson gives us a fascinating portrait of her old friend and flame. To understand why Kerouac’s work still bears reading and scrutiny, readers may wish to turn to John LeLand’s Why Kerouac Matters: The Lessons of On The Road (They‘re Not What You Think), previously reviewed in The Smoky Mountain News. Here Leland examines lessons we can draw from On The Road: the importance of fatherhood and family, the meaning of faith, mediations on time and relationships. In addition to documenting some surprises in Kerouac’s thinking — he was, for example, an admirer of Reverend Billy Graham — Leland finally concludes his short study realizing that Kerouac did have a message for us, that life is “ignorance and suffering and jazz and loss and occasional revelation.” That’s why, despite all his failings and sad weaknesses, all his failures as a person and a writer, we still read Jack Kerouac.
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Smoky Mountain News
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BY J ILL I NGRAM G UEST WRITER, WCU PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE overing long distances in and around Cataloochee Valley, a Western Carolina University student is researching the growing, and sometimes problematic, elk population in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The goal is to provide park rangers with data to help manage the herd. Elizabeth Hillard, a 30-year old graduate student in biology, has gone to great lengths to find out whatever she could about the creatures. Over the past year, Hillard located, hiked and mapped nearly 80 miles of elk trails. To study their eating preferences, Hillard even collected elk scat, which she froze in storage for later analysis. In all she has covered approximately 50 square miles of the park, with the sole purpose of documenting the daily habits of one of the park’s largest tourist attractions. Hillard’s research was even awarded an $11,000 grant from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation this past fall. Soon she will organize the information she has collected and draw conclusions about the elks’ habits in the wild, including what they eat, where they find shelter and their density as a herd throughout the area. Having a detailed account of everyday elk life may help the park avert disaster, as a result of an uncontrollable elk population. Already neighbors of the park have had run-ins and voiced complaints about the giant beasts causing problems on private property.
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150 AND COUNTING WCU grad student research helps get a handle on impacts of mounting numbers of elk
“We’re trying to get a big picture for everything that’s going on regarding carrying capacity for elk in the Smokies.” — Joe Yarkovich, national park biologist
“We know that elk populations can swell to unnatural levels that have a negative impact on the environment,” said Joe Yarkovich, a park wildlife biologist who focuses on the elk program and who helped guide Hillard’s research. At Rocky Mountain National Park, for instance, where the elk have no natural predators, the growing herds have destroyed aspen groves and willow stands, Yarkovich said. “We’re trying to get on the front end of it so that we will see those impacts before they take effect and cause much harm to the environment,” he said. The release of elk into the park began in February 2001 with 25 elk imported from Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area along the TennesseeKentucky border. In 2002, another 27 elk were
Elizabeth Hillard, a graduate student in the biology program at Western Carolina University, is researching how the elk population uses Great Smoky Mountains National Park resources, including what they eat and their preferred shelter. WCU photos
imported from Elk Island National Park in Alberta, Canada. All were released in the Cataloochee area, where many have stayed, though some have migrated west to Cades Cove — the animals like the open grassy areas at both of those locations, Hillard said. The exact number of elk in the region is unknown, although a rough estimate puts the population at 150 animals, including those that have traveled outside the park boundaries, according to Yarkovich. Some elk wear radio-collars and are monitored so biologists can learn more about their movements and life spans, yet many do not and tracking their whereabouts can be more time-consuming. And, as the elk population continues to grow, not only will information from
National A.T. gathering making the trek to Cullowhee this summer A large Appalachian Trail gathering is coming to Western Carolina University this summer, and local trail clubs hosting the week-long conference are recruiting volunteers to help during the event The Appalachian Trail Conservancy will hold is biennial meeting in Cullowhee from July 19 through 26. The Carolina Mountain
Club and Nantahala Hiking Club — along with three other hiking clubs from Tennessee and Georgia that maintain designated sections of the A.T. — are organizing and putting it on. Volunteers are needed to lead hikes, register guests, support workshops, distribute information, and assist with parking, camping and reception activities.
research like Hillard’s be useful to understanding the elk, but also provide a baseline to monitor the dynamic relationship between the park and its herd. “Five years from now, somebody will come back and do it again so we can track changes over longer periods of time, and I’ll hand them this packet and say, ‘This is what needs to be done,’ and it will be what [Hillard] has done for us. She really is setting it up long term,” Yarkovich said. But Hillard’s research on diet and habitat is just one piece of the puzzle. Study in other areas such as herd health, dispersal patterns, disease monitoring are needed to better comprehend the elk. “We’re trying to get a big picture for everything that’s going on regarding carrying capacity for elk in the Smokies,” Yarkovich said. After she draws conclusions from a mountain of data, Hillard plans to complete her thesis and graduate in time to enter a doctoral program in wildlife ecology and management in the fall. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers fertile ground for WCU students looking for masters and thesis research topics, according to WCU biology professor Laura DeWald. One of DeWald’s other students is currently working on a fire ecology project in the Smokies, for example. Others have engaged with the U.S. Forest Service or the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Such arrangements are mutually beneficial, affording students the opportunity to apply their education in the field and giving strapped agencies high-quality work for minimal financial investment. “Agencies are having to do more with less. This work in the park needed to be done,” DeWald said. “Our students are involved in acquiring knowledge that can be used to inform resource management decisions.”
Volunteer can help out in shifts that range from four hours to a full day, anytime during the week. The event will feature hundreds of organized hikes on the Appalachian Trail and other WNC trails. Attendees will also have the chance to learn about hiking, gear, history, and trail maintenance techniques, as well as have the opportunity to meet new people who are passionate about the A.T. and its management. www.appalachiantrail.org/2013biennial.
BY DON H ENDERSHOT
Arrrggghh – a wintry mix
the droplets and while they still fall as liquid they immediately freeze upon contact with any object, like, say, your driveway. If these droplets refreeze again before they land on your driveway they are known as sleet. There is also a cool snow, freezing rain hybrid called graupel. Graupel is formed when freezing rain settles on snow crystals, creating a snow crystal with rime ice. Graupel is most common at high elevations, like the Rockies or the Alps, but I’ve seen it here. You probably have too — it looks like tiny styrofoam balls of snow. As the illustration shows, a cloudy winter day can result in any combination of rain, snow, sleet, graupel and/or freezing rain. It’s the reason those weather persons’ eyes look like they’re covered in freezing rain when they announce a “wintry mix.” And the reason why, for some of us the “bread and milk” run to the grocery includes limeade, tequila and cointreau. (Don Hendershot is a writer and naturalist. He can be reached a ddihen1@bellsouth.net.)
MOTHERNATURENETWORK GRAPHIC
Rains cause wastewater spills in Haywood Beginning Jan. 14, and due to the heavy rains, Waynesville had several wastewater overflows. One took place at a manhole adjacent to Richland Creek at Howell Mill Road. An estimated 600,000 gallons spilled out until Jan. 20 when the flow was stopped. Other such flows happened near the county fairgrounds, where 400,000 gallons spilled out and flowed into Richland Creek, and near the Hazelwood Town Hall where an estimated 100,000 gallons left the sewer system. 828.456.4410.
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Smoky Mountain News
cool enough the water vapor condenses back into a liquid. Just like dew on a blade of grass, the water vapor has to have something to condense upon. No problem, the atmosphere, like the air behind your vacuum cleaner’s exhaust, is full of atmospheric debris. Most of this debris is in the form of microscopic dust, dirt and/or salt and provides the moisture something to latch onto. Depending on the temperature in the cloud, this condensation is either in liquid or frozen form. If the temperature in the cloud is above freezing and the temperature between the earth and the cloud is above freezing — rain. Often in July, in the northern hemisphere, those thunderheads reach so high that the precipitation starts out frozen. In most cases the air between terra firma and the cloud is warm enough that the ice melts and falls to Earth as rain. But sometimes those ice droplets have been so busy colliding and sucking up water vapor and growing that they are too big to thaw before reaching ground and we have a hailstorm.
Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
Limeade, tequila and cointreau is not a wintry mix — that is a margarita; something you may resort to when a wintry mix turns your driveway into a sheet of ice. The ingredients for a wintry mix are a combination of two or more of these types of frozen/freezing precipitation, snow, ice pellets/sleet, freezing rain and/or graupel (pronounced grapple.) Basic precipitation mechanics are involved. Warm moist air rises — this is called atmospheric lift and it is the same process in July as it is in February. The warm air rises as water vapor or clouds. When it gets
In the winter it gets a bit more d(icey.) Arctic clippers fly down from the north; moisture-laden warm Gulf air blows in from the South, high pressure systems bump into low pressure systems and we often wind up with layers of warmer/colder air in the atmosphere. It’s easy to see with all the variables — how cold is the cold air, how warm is the warm air, how thick is the warm layer, how thin is the cold layer — why the six o’clock weather person looks like a deer in the headlights and is left to meekly proclaim a “wintry mix.” But there are some general scenarios. Freezing rain may start out, initially as ice, but it melts as it falls through warmer air only to encounter cold air again near the Earth’s surface. This cold layer super-cools
Protecting the land has been one of the group’s top conservation priorities for four decades because of its size and location within a large network of protected lands. At its northern boundary, it takes in the crest of Grassy Ridge where it joins Pisgah A 601-acre tract in Avery County near National Forest, and at the southern end Roan Mountain has been purchased and the property joins the Yellow Mountain conserved by the Southern Appalachian State Natural Area. Highlands Conservancy. The tract is adjaThe property consists of a large, forestcent to the Pisgah National Forest and near ed bowl surrounded by three ridges. One of the largest concentrations of rare species in the state is found on the property’s ridges. The purchase also protects headwater for the region and local tributaries. “Nearby Grassy Ridge bald is the best remaining and most pristine grassy bald in the Southern Appalachians,” said Judy Murray, the organization’s roan stewardA 601-acre tract near Roan Mountain has been conserved, ship director. “This bald serving as a missing linking between other protected lands in and its adjacent rock the area. Donated photo outcrops have the highest concentration of rare plant species and the the Appalachian Trail in the Highlands of fewest non-native species of any site in the Roan. The tract borders one of the highest Highlands of Roan.” ridges of the Southern Appalachians, and Guided hikes on the tract will be held rises to 6,150 feet in elevation. this year.
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The Naturalist’s Corner
Conservancy adds on to protected Roan Mountain lands
Now Call 828-565-0362 for Reservations 27
outdoors Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013 Smoky Mountain News
Smokies to start charging backpackers Changes to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park backcountry reservation and permit system will officially take effect on Feb. 13. Backcountry camping was previously free, but will now cost $4 per person, per night. A new advance reservation system will also be put in place, allowing backcountry campers to make reservations and obtain permits online, up to 30 days in advance. The new site is www.smokiespermits.nps.gov. Backcountry camping in the Smokies is allowed at designated sites only. While the number of people at a given site on a given night is limited, the former permit system didn’t ensure that. Do-it-yourself permit stations were mounted on posts at remote trailheads, allowing backpackers to self-register by slipping a form in a drop box, which were collected later by rangers. For sites in high demand, backpackers had to call in and make reservations in advance, but the backcountry desk had limited days and hours of operation. The park plans to staff an expanded backcountry trip planning desk and increase its backcountry ranger presence. 865.436.1297.
Sign-up for behind-the-scenes look at the Smokies The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is beginning a new program that allows nearby residents, business people, teachers and community members to see the everyday workings of the national park. Participants will attend five full day sessions at a variety of locations in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, accompanying park employees in activities that may include radio-tracking elk, participating in a fish survey, and assisting with trail restoration. “If you have ever wanted to be a park ranger or get a behind the scenes look at what goes on in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, this is your opportunity,” said park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson. “Our surrounding communities and their leaders are very important to us, and this program gives us a chance to make more meaningful connections with our neighbors and for them to do the same with us.” The program is held in conjunction with the Friends of the Smokies and the Great Smoky Mountains Association. It will begin March 27 and conclude in May. Class size is limited to 25 participants and those attending must apply first. Applications will be accepted until Feb. 22. The program costs $50. www.friendsofthesmokies.org or 828.452.0720.
Participants in last year’s “Experience your Smokies” program help with trail maintenance near Clingman’s Dome. NPS photo
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outdoors
Lace up your hiking boots:
Federal microloans cater to new breed of start-up farmers
Hiking club rolls out two new trail challenges To celebrate its 90th anniversary, the Carolina Mountain Club Challenge committee has added two new hiking challenges this year to its lineup.
Beginning farmers in Swain and Jackson counties can get an agricultural microloan of up to $35,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. The smaller, microloans are tailored to the needs of new, smaller growers, such as those who sell at local farmers markets. The loan features a streamlined application and a simplified qualification process with a low interest rate of 1.25 percent. 828.488.2684 (ext. 2).
hikes. Unlike other hiking challenges, all the miles have to be logged in 2013 — sections hiked previous years don’t count. (In other challenges, the where the hiker can log the
Winter gardening class in Sylva
Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
The Jackson County Farmers Market is hosting a winter garden workshop with Adam Bigelow at 2 p.m. Feb. 2. at the Sylva Community Garden. Bigelow is an organic gardener and is trained in horticulture. Bigelow will demonstrate techniques and methods of season extension, including cool season crop choices, row covers, plastic covers, low-tunnels and many other methods. The cost is $5 per adult and all proceeds go to the farmers market. Tickets are
Adam Bigelow, one of the greenest thumbs in Jackson County, offers winter gardening advice in Sylva next week. Max Patch along the Appalachian Trail. Danny Bernstein photo available during the indoor winter’s farmers market on Saturdays at the Community Table from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or the day of at the workshop. 828.631.3033 or www.jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org
• The Appalachian Trial Challenge is to hike 93 miles of the A.T. from Davenport Gap to Spivey Gap — which marks the section maintained by volunteer trail crews with the Carolina Mountain Club. • The Mountains to Sea Trail Challenge is to hike all 130 miles of the MST maintained by club volunteers. The section travels Waterrock Knob to the summit Mount Mitchell, largely following the Blue Ridge Parkway corridor. Mileage may be accumulated in an unlimited number of hikes, in other words tackled in sections with a series of day
trails over time until they finally reach the goal over a matter of years.) Those who complete the challenge will receive a 2013 A.T. or MST anniversary patch and certificate. Other hiking challenges already on the books include: all the peaks over 6,000 feet in the Southern Appalachians, all 400 miles of trail in the Pisgah National Forest, all 900 miles of trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, all the lookout towers in Western NC and a waterfalls challenge to hike 100 waterfalls. www.carolinamountainclub.org
Jump on the 4-H bandwagon in Haywood
Smoky Mountain News
Haywood County 4-H will host a kick-off on Monday, Feb. 4, from 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Haywood Cooperative Extension Center in Waynesville. The event is geared toward existing and new members, and will serve as a brainstorming session to plan the coming year’s activities and projects. The evening’s festivities will include teambuilding activities, a teen leadership council meeting, an electrical workshop and a talk about environmental issues pertaining to water, wildlife, forestry, soils and land use. There will also be pizza, drinks and other activities. 828.456.3575.
Learn to be a lifeguard The aquatics area of the Midwest Health & Fitness Center in Haywood County will hold an American Red Cross Lifeguard Training certification course Feb. 21-24. Classes will last between five and nine hours each day. Completion earns a two-year lifeguard and CPR certification, suitable for employment at pools across the country. The course costs $235 for MedWest Health and Fitness Center members, and $255 for non-members. 828.452.8056.
HCC offers boating safety course
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A boating safety course will be held from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m on Jan. 28 and 29 at Haywood Community College. The course, put on by the HCC’s Natural Resources Division and the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, will result in a boater safety certification. Free, but pre-registration required. www.ncwildlife.org.
WNC Calendar BUSINESS & EDUCATION • Free beginner computer class, Create your own Facebook account, 5:45 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, Jackson County Public Library computer lab. Register, 586.2016. • NC ABC Commission is holding a free Responsible Alcohol Seller/Server Program class to educate businesses with alcohol permits and their employees about the responsible sales and service of alcoholic beverages. 9 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, meeting room, Jackson County Recreation Center, 88 Cullowhee Mountain Road, Cullowhee. Jane Harrison, 586.2345 ext. 24 or jharrison@mountainprojects.org. • Free 90-minute computer class, Microsoft Word, 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6, Jackson County Public Library, Sylva. Limited to first 16 people to register, 586.2016.
COMMUNITY EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS • Panel discussion on how to respond to traumatic events in school communities, 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31, A.K. Hinds University Center multipurpose room, Western Carolina University. Dale Carpenter at carpenter@wcu.edu or 227.7311. • Indoor flea market, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, Haywood County Fairgrounds, highway 209, Lake Junaluska. Booth Information: 400.1529. www.haywoodcountyfairgrounds.org. • Macon County Beekeepers Association, 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, Cooperative Extension Office on Thomas Heights Road. Speaker will be Paul Vonk, commercial beekeeper from Clayton, GA. Public invited. 524.5234.
All phone numbers area code 828 unless otherwise noted. 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1-2, 3 p.m. Feb. 3, Haywood Arts Regional Theater, 250 Pigeon St., Waynesville. Tickets are $10 for adults, and $6 for students to all studio plays. For tickets, call 456.6322 and leave a message on the theatre’s answering machine. Tickets are also available on line at www.harttheatre.com. • The Shorty Hawkins Play, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 1-2, in the studio theater of Western Carolina University’s John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. Tickets $3, available at the door. Michael J. DeLorm at mdelorm@wcu.edu or 226.4684. • Essence Lounge at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort presents Ricky Yelton & the Hired Guns, DJ Suave, 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., Friday, Feb. 1; My Highway, Dizzy DJ, 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 2; Big Game Day Party, 6 to 10 p.m., 96.5 House Band, 2 to 6 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 3; Contagious, DJ Moto, 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., Friday, Feb. 8; and Crocodile Smile, DJ Dizzy, 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 9. • Third annual Winter Concert Series, Balsam Range & Missy Raines and The New Hip, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, Colonial Theatre, Canton. Tickets available at the Colonial Theatre Box Office, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday – Friday, 53 Park St. Canton NC, 28716. Complete schedule at www.visitncsmokies.com/events, http://missyraines.com/. • Alice’s Mad Tea Party, 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, Franklin. Tickets, $7. Musical performance by the Overlook Theatre Company. Purchase tickets at theatre box office. Advanced reservations suggested. GreatMountainMusic.com or call 866.273.4615.
BLOOD DRIVES Macon • Mountain View Intermediate School Blood Drive, 2 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31, 161 Clarks Chapel Road, Franklin. Sandy Keener, 349.1325 for more information or to schedule an appointment.
HEALTH MATTERS • Free Lunch and Learn session with orthopedic surgeon Ryan Slechta, M.D. and Hannah Hill, PA-C, noon to 1 p.m., Friday, Feb. 1, in the MedWest-Harris board room, second floor on the MedWest-Harris campus in Sylva. Topic is hip replacement. Reservations required. 631.8893.
RECREATION & FITNESS • American Red Cross Lifeguard Training certification course Feb. 21-24, MedWest Health and Fitness Center, Clyde. $235 for MedWest Health and Fitness Center members, $255 for non-members, and includes all materials and instruction for both lifeguard training and CPR training. 452.8056.
A&E ON STAGE & IN CONCERT • Pianist Gordon Mote, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1, Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts, Franklin. Tickets start at $12. GreatMountainMusic.com or call 866.273.4615. • Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead,
• Jamey Johnson, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center, Cherokee. Tickets, $25, $35. 800.745.3000. • Frog Level Philharmonic Dixieland Jazz Band of Waynesville, 3 to 4:15 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 3, auditorium, Swain County Center for the Arts. Concert followed by reception for Waynesville artist Dominick DePaolo. 488.7843 or www.swain.k12.nc.us/cfta. Jackson County Library to offer concert featuring Alma Russ. • Thirteen-year-old singer and multi-instrumentalist Alma Russ, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, Jackson County Library community room. Bluegrass, old-time mountain music and folk music. Free. 586.2016. • Guest flutist Gabriel Dondi Goñi, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6, Coulter Building recital hall, Western Carolina University. Free. Goñi is a flutist with Costa Rica’s National Symphony Orchestra. In 1989, he joined the New World School of the Arts in Miami, later continuing his education at the Juilliard School in New York. WCU School of Music, 227.7242. • First Thursdays Old-Time Music and Bluegrass Jams, 7 to 8 p.m. Whitewater Bluegrass Company, 8 to 9 p.m. open jam, Thursday, Feb. 7, WCU Mountain Heritage Center Auditorium. Free. • Smoky Mountain Brass Quintet, 2:45 p.m., and WCU Wind Ensemble, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center, Western Carolina University. School of Music, 227.7242. • The hour-long radio show Stories of Mountain Folk airs at 9 a.m. every Saturday on its home station, WRGC Jackson County Radio, 540 AM on the dial, broadcasting out of Sylva. Stories of Mountain Folk is an ongoing allsound oral history program produced by Catch the Spirit of Appalachia (CSA), a western North Carolina not-forprofit, for local radio and online distribution.
Smoky Mountain News
ART/GALLERY EVENTS & OPENINGS • Printmaking with Linoleum Blocks and Rubber Blocks workshop, by Jeff Marley, multimedia artist from Cherokee. 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5 at Swain County Center for the Arts. Limited to 16 people, $25, registration and supply feed required in advance. To register, call Jenny Johnson, 488.7843. www.swain.k12.nc.us/cfta. • Fire & Ice: Pottery, Glass, and Metalwork exhibit through Saturday, Feb. 9, Haywood County Arts Council’s Gallery 86, 86 N. Main St., Waynesville. Fire & Ice: Pottery, Glass, and Metalwork celebrates the heating and cooling process involved in the making of pottery, glass, and metal work. www.haywoodarts.org.
CLASSES, PROGRAMS & DEMONSTRATIONS • North Carolina Glass 2012: In Celebration of 50 Years of Studio Glass in America, exhibit through Friday, Feb. 1, Fine Art Museum at Western Carolina University. • Make your own place setting, adults, 10 a.m. to noon, Saturdays, Feb. 2 (plates), Feb. 9 (cups) and Feb. 16 (bowls), Pincu Pottery, Bryson City. $30 per class. 10 percent if you pay for all three up front. Four person minimum, eight maximum. Register at 488.0480 or pincupottery@gmail.com. • Art classes with Dominick DePaolo, 10 a.m. to noon on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at the Old Armory Building, 44 Boundary St. in Waynesville and from 1 to 3 p.m. every Friday at Mountain Home Collection at 110 Miller St., Waynesville. Watercolor classes will be offered from 10 a.m. to noon every Monday and oil painting classes from 1 to 3 p.m. every Monday at the Uptown Gallery in Franklin. Registration requested. For Armory classes call 456.9918; for Home Collection classes call 456.5441; for Franklin classes call 349.4607.
FILM & SCREEN • Free movie night, 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, Jackson County Public Library. Call for details, 586.2016. • Free family comedy movie, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, Marianna Black Library auditorium, Bryson City. Animated take on a Shakespearean tale. Popcorn provided. 586.2016.
DANCE • Pisgah Promenaders Square Dance Club beginning square dance lessons, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 4, Old Armory in Waynesville. Marty Northrup, well-known regional caller, will be the instructor. No experience required. The lessons are appropriate for people ages 18 years old and older. Barbara Klerlein, 586.8416. • Pisgah Promenaders Chocolate Lovers Night square dance, 6:45 to 8:45 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, Old Armory Rec. Center, 44 Boundary St., Waynesville. Plus and Mainstream dancing with caller Ken Perkins. 586.8416 or 452.5917.
MUSIC JAMS Jackson • First Thursdays Old-Time Music and Bluegrass Jams, 7 to 8 p.m. Whitewater Bluegrass Company, 8 to 9 p.m. open jam, Thursday, Feb. 7, WCU Mountain Heritage Center Auditorium. Free. • Old Timey Bluegrass Jams are held at 7 p.m. every
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Visit www.smokymountainnews.com and click on Calendar for: ■ Complete listings of local music scene ■ Regional festivals ■ Art gallery events and openings ■ Complete listings of recreational offerings at regional health and fitness centers ■ Civic and social club gatherings Tuesday at Spring Street Cafe in Sylva.
Outdoors PROGRAMS & WORKSHOPS • Grady the Groundhog will make his annual prediction from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, Chimney Rock Park. Educational program and shadow sighting in the Meadows, followed by kids’ crafts and family guided hikes. Reduced admission during the waterfall trail closure is $12 adult and $6 youth (ages 5-15); free for kids 4 and under. Special admission on Feb. 2, get one free youth admission with each paid adult. During February, Grady’s Kids Club memberships are on sale for only $8. http://chimneyrockpark.com/events/new.php.
COMPETITIVE EDGE • Fourth annual Cubs on the Fun Run Sprint and 5k, 8:30 a.m. Saturday, March 23, Meadowbrook Elementary School. Entry form at http://teacher.haywood.k12.nc.us/bswanger/files/2011/ 10/2013-brochure-entry-form2.pdf. • Third annual Valley of the Lilies Half Marathon and 5K, Saturday, April 6, Western Carolina University. Free training program developed by WCU’s athletic training faculty is being emailed to all registered runners and walkers. Group training runs are held on the campus at 6 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and at 8 a.m. on Saturdays. Plans for both beginner and experienced runners and walkers. Register at imathlete.com. http://halfmarathon.wcu.edu.
FARM & GARDEN • Public meeting for Swain County farmers, landowners, and others to provide input on a new plan to support agriculture in Swain County. 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31, Swain County Senior Center, 129 Brendle St., Bryson City. Free dinner. Funding to create the Swain County farm plan has been provided by the North Carolina Agricultural Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. RSVP to Swain Soil and Water Conservation District, 488.8803 x 3.
FARMER’S & TAILGATE MARKETS • Winter Garden Workshop with organic gardener Adam Bigelow, 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, Sylva Community Garden. Hosted by Jackson County Farmers Market. $5 per person (kids free) and all proceeds benefit the Jackson County Farmers Market. Jenny, 631.3033. www.jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.org. • Jackson County Farmers Market, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., winter indoor location at the Community Table, Central Street, Sylva. Jenny McPherson, 631.3033 or visit jacksoncountyfarmersmarket.wordpress.com.
wnc calendar
Canton - 4BR, 2BA $124,900 #531214
Freeman Knolls - 2BR, 2BA $139,900 #531079
Maggie Valley - 3BR, 1.5BA $145,000 #531417
Canton - 3BR, 2.5BA $179,500 #531300
Roaring Creek - 3BR, 3BA $239,000 #522469
Canton - 4BR, 3BA $250,000 #522404
Shadow Woods - 3BR, 2BA $375,000 #521240
Clyde - 3BR, 3BA $449,000 #531339
Laurel Ridge CC - 3BR, 3BA $549,000 #521886
Shadow Woods - 3BR, 3.5BA $599,900 #521000
Waynesville - 4BR, 5.5BA $712,000 #521567
Smoky Mountain News
Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
Waynesville - 2BR, 1BA $93,000 #519737
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Laurel Heights 4BR, 4BA, 2HB $999,950 #523217
Smoky Mtn. Retreat 4BR, 6BA $2,290,000 #523159
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THE REGION A PARTNERSHIP For Children is accepting proposals for Smart Start funded activities that will support the early development of children and the goals of Smart Start in the seven westernmost counties of North Carolina. The proposals for activities that may be funded through Smart Start for Health, Early Care and Education and Family Support programs serving children and families birth through kindergarten must be received by the Region A Partnership for Children by February 15, 2013 at 5pm, including the required documentation. Full details available at: www.regionakids.org
The Smoky Mountain News Marketplace has a distribution of 16,000 every week to over 500 locations across in Haywood, Jackson, Macon, and Swain counties along with the Qualla Boundary and west Buncombe County. For a link to our MarketPlace Web site, which also contains a link to all of our MarketPlace display advertisers’ Web sites, visit www.smokymountainnews.com.
Rates: ■ Free — Residential yard sale ads, lost or found pet ads. ■ Free — Non-business items that sell for less than $150. ■ $12 — Classified ads that are 50 words or less; each additional line is $2. ■ $12 — If your ad is 10 words or less, it will be displayed with a larger type. ■ $3 — Border around ad and $5 — Picture with ad. ■ $35 — Non-business items, 25 words or less. 3 month or till sold. ■ $300 — Statewide classifieds run in 117 participating newspapers with 1.6 million circulation. Up to 25 words. ■ All classified ads must be pre-paid.
ARTS & CRAFTS
Classified Advertising:
ALLISON CREEK Iron Works & Woodworking. Crafting custom metal & woodwork in rustic, country & lodge designs with reclaimed woods! Design & consultation, Barry Downs 828.524.5763, Franklin NC
Scott Collier, phone 828.452.4251; fax 828.452.3585 | classads@smokymountainnews.com
WAYNESVILLE TIRE, COO
INC.
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SC OV ER E
ATR
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Serving Haywood, Jackson & Surrounding Counties
AUCTION ABSOLUTE AUCTION Spacious House; Cordova, NC; Saturday, February 9, 11 a.m. 236 Church Street. 4br, 2ba, 1,900 +/sq. ft. Damon Shortt Real Estate & Auction Group, 877.669.4005. NCAL7358. www.damonshorttproperties.com
Offering:
MAJOR-BRAND TIRES FOR CARS, LIGHT & MEDIUM-DUTY TRUCKS, AND FARM TIRES.
Service truck available for on-site repairs LEE & PATTY ENSLEY, OWNERS STEVE WOODS, MANAGER
MON-FRI 7:30-5:30 • WAYNESVILLE PLAZA
456-5387
72127
AUCTION FANTASTIC AUCTION Friday February 1st, at 4:30 p.m. Great selection of items to be sold! Partial Listing: Quality furniture, primitives, glassware, cast iron, box car, advertising, Longaberger baskets, used furniture, antiques, collectables, household, box lots & TONS MORE!! HUGE AUCTION!! To view pictures of this Auction go to: www.boatwrightauction.com Boatwright Auction, 34 Tarheel Trail, Franklin, NC 28734 828.524.2499 Boatwright Auction, NCAL Firm 9231
FROG LEVEL AUCTIONS Every Friday Night Auction at 6pm, Preview at 5pm. Starting January 26th we will have 2 auctions per week: Friday Nights at 6pm & Saturday Afternoon at 3pm Booked Dealer Sale Antiques, Collectables, Tools, Furniture, House Wares, New & Old, This & That, Something for Everyone! See our Full Schedule with Photos, Info & Directions at: www.froglevelauctions.net For more information or To Book A Spot Call 828.775.9317 or email: david@froglevelauctions.net Terms: Cash or Credit/Debit Card Only, 13% Buyers Fee 3% Discount For Cash Auction Firm NCAFL 9537, David Roland NCAL 9133 & Kai Calabro NCAL 9127 255 Depot St., Waynvesville, NC 28786.
ABSOLUTE BANKRUPTCY Online Only Auction, Case #'s B10-52274 C-7, B-11-81363 C-7D, 12-40528, 12-10242 & 11-32746, Heavy Trucks, Vans, Cars, Skid Steer, Fork Lift, Horse Trailer, Motorcycle & More, Rockingham, NC. 1/30 at 8am to 2/5 at 3pm. Iron Horse Auction Company. 800.997.2248. NCAL3936. www.ironhorseauction.com
PUBLIC AUCTION Saturday, February 9 at 10 a.m. 201 S. Central Avenue, Locust, NC. (East of Charlotte) Selling Tax Seized Heavy Equipment, Cat 416, JD 310B Backhoes, Road Tractors, Trenchers, Tools, Guns. www.ClassicAuctions.com. 704.791.8825. NCAF5479
COINJOCK, NC. 377+/Acres into (6) Tracts. From 6 to 108 Acres. Waterway/Canal Property. AUCTION, February 16th. Hunting; Farming; Recreation; Investment. 800.442.7906 www.RogersAuctionGroup.com NCAL#685
BOOTH ELECTRIC Residential & Commercial service. Up-front pricing, emergency service. 828.734.1179. NC License #24685-U.
ELECTRICAL
BUILDING MATERIALS HAYWOOD BUILDERS Garage Doors, New Installations Service & Repairs, 828.456.6051 100 Charles St. Waynesville Employee Owned.
CONSTRUCTION/ REMODELING ATTENTION HOMEOWNERS Needing siding, windows, roofs. 10 homes will be selected in your county this month for our showcase before/after remodeling program. Save hundreds. All credit accepted. $89/month 1.866.668.8681. DAVE’S CUSTOM HOMES OF WNC, INC Free Estimates & Competitive rates. References avail. upon request. Specializing in: Log Homes, remodeling, decks, new construction, repairs & additions. Owner/Builder: Dave Donaldson. Licensed/Insured. 828.631.0747 or 828.508.0316 SULLIVAN HARDWOOD FLOORS Installation- Finish - Refinish 828.399.1847.
AUTO PARTS DDI BUMPERS ETC. Quality on the Spot Repair & Painting. Don Hendershot 858.646.0871 cell 828.452.4569 office.
CARS - DOMESTIC 2000 FORD MUSTANG GT Convertible. New custom paint, style bar, Mach I rims and lots of upgrades completed. Serious inquiries only. $10,000. Please call 828.226.7461. DONATE YOUR CAR, Truck or Boat to Heritage for the Blind. Free 3 Day Vacation, Tax Deductible, Free Towing, All Paperwork Taken Care Of. 877.752.0496. TOP CASH FOR CARS, Call Now For An Instant Offer. Top Dollar Paid, Any Car/Truck, Any Condition. Running or Not. Free Pick-up/Tow. 1.800.761.9396 SAPA
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WNC MarketPlace
CARS - DOMESTIC SAVE $$$ ON AUTO INSURANCE. No forms. No hassle. No stress. No obligation. Call READY FOR MY QUOTE now! CALL 1.877.835.8343. SAPA I BUY ANY JUNK CAR. $300 Flat Rate. Must Have Title! FREE Pick Up. 800.576.2499.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES ENTREPRENEURS WANTED! $3K to $10K per week. NO Selling, NO Explaining, NO Joke! 1.319.450.7504. www.GetRichWithCliff.com SAPA
EMPLOYMENT AIRLINES ARE HIRING Train for hands on Aviation Maintenance Career. FAA approved program. Financial Aid if Qualified Housing available. CALL Aviation Institute of Maintenance. 1.866.724.5403. SAPA
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Grace Episcopal Church, Waynesville, seeking highly organized/detail-oriented individual for parish administrator position. Proficiency in Microsoft Word/Excel. Knowledge of Publisher is a plus. 18-19 hours weekly. Hours/days to be mutually determined. Email resume and letter with qualifications to: gracewaynesville@msn.com CITY BAKERY Is hiring for a cafe position. 6 mos experience required. Apply in person at our location: 18 N. Main St, Waynesville, after 2pm. No phone calls please! FREIGHT UP = MORE $. Need CDL Class A Driving Exp Plus Benefits, New Equip & 401k. 877.258.8782 or go to: www.ad-drivers.com GYPSUM EXPRESS Opening terminal in Roxboro, NC. Class A CDL Flatbed Drivers. Road & Regional Positions. Melissa, 866.317.6556 x6 or apply at www.gypsumexpress.com
COMPANY DRIVER: Solo & Team OTR Lanes. Competitive Pay. Great hometime. CDL-A with 1 year OTR and hazmat endorsement. Willingness to attain tanker endorsement within 30 days. 888.705.3217 or apply online at www.drivenctrans.com DRIVER $0.03 quarterly bonus, plus $0.01 increase per mile after 6 and 12 months. Daily or Weekly pay. CDL-A, 3 months current experience. 800.414.9569. www.driveknight.com DRIVER Flatbed & Heavy Haul Owner Operators/Fleet Owners. Consistent year round freight. Avg $1.70 2.00 all miles. No forced dispatch. Apply online www.tangomotorotransit.com or call 877.533.8684. DRIVERS CDL-A $5,000 Sign-On Bonus For exp'd solo OTR drivers & O/O's. Tuition reimbursement also available! New Student Pay & Lease Program. USA TRUCK. 877.521.5775. www.USATruck.jobs
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT
MEDICAL CAREERS BEGIN HERE Train ONLINE for Allied Health and Medical Management. Job placement assistance. Computer available. Financial Aid if qualified. SCHEV authorized. Call now for more information. 1.877.206.7665 or go to: www.CenturaOnline.com SAPA
DRIVERS - REGIONAL RUNS. North Carolina Drivers. Home Weekly! Start at .38 cents/mile. Class A CDL + 1 Yr. Exp. 1.866.269.2119. www.landair.com FOSTER PARENTS NEEDED The Bair Foundation, a Christian Foster Care Ministry, is looking for committed families willing to open their homes to local foster children & teens. Training, certification, reimbursement & support provided. Call Now 828.350.5197
NOW HIRING! National Companies need workers immediately to assemble products at home. Electronics, CD stands, hair barrettes & many more. Easy work, no selling, any hours. $500/week potential. Info 1.985.646.1700 DEPT NC - 4152 (Not valid in Louisiana) SAPA
NEED MEDICAL OFFICE TRAINEES! Become a Medical Office Assistant at CTI! NO EXPERIENCED NEEDED! Online Training gets you job ready! HS Diploma/GED & Computer needed. Careertechnical.edu/nc 1.888.512.7122
RESPITE CARE AVAILABLE Are you the soul care giver for your loved one? Are you in need of some life of your own? Do you need a couple hours, a day, a weekend? If so, I am available to provide experienced compassionate Respite Care! Will provide references, Call Vicki for more info 828.768.4252
OWNER OPERATORS: $5,000 Sign-On Bonus. Excellent Rates. Paid FSC, loaded & empty. 75% Drop & Hook. Great Fuel & Tire Discounts. L/P available. CDLA with 1 year tractor-trailer experience required. 888.703.3889 or apply online at www.comtrak.com
START THE NEW YEAR With a Great CDL Driving Career! Experienced Drivers & Recent Grads - Excellent Benefits, Weekly Hometime, Paid Training. 888.362.8608 AVERITTcareers.com Equal Opportunity Employer. TRUCK DRIVERS WANTED Best Pay and Home Time! Apply Online Today over 750 Companies! One Application, Hundreds of Offers! www.HammerLaneJobs.com. SAPA WANTED: LIFE AGENTS. Potential to Earn $500 a Day. Great Agent Benefits. Commissions Paid Daily. Liberal Underwriting. Leads, Leads, Leads. Life Insurance, License Required. Call 1.888.713.6020.
FINANCIAL $$$ ACCESS LAWSUIT CASH NOW!! Injury Lawsuit Dragging? Need $500-$500,000++ within 48/hours? Low rates. Apply Now By Phone! 1.800.568.8321. wwwlawcapital.com Not Valid in CO or NC. SAPA
72137
Puzzles can be found on page 34.
www.smokymountainnews.com
Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
These are only the answers.
34
Great Smokies Storage 10’x20’
92
$
20’x20’
160
$
ONE MONTH
FREE WITH 12-MONTH CONTRACT
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FINANCIAL
LAWN & GARDEN
BUY GOLD & SILVER COINS 1 percent over dealer cost. For a limited time, Park Avenue Numismatics is selling Silver and Gold American Eagle Coins at 1 percent over dealer cost. 1.888.470.6389
HEMLOCK HEALERS, INC. Dedicated to Saving Our Hemlocks. Owner/Operator Frank Varvoutis, NC Pesticide Applicator’s License #22864. 48 Spruce St. Maggie Valley, NC 828.734.7819 828.926.7883, Email: hemlockhealers@yahoo.com
PETS HAYWOOD SPAY/NEUTER 828.452.1329
GOLD AND SILVER Can Protect Your Hard Earned Dollars. Learn how by calling Freedom Gold Group for your free educational guide. 888.478.6991 PAYOFF ALL YOUR Unsecured debt now! 15 year old Company. Rated A+ with BBB. Bad Credit OK. 1.800.844.5049. www.FederatedFinancial.com SAPA EVER CONSIDER A Reverse Mortgage? At least 62 years old? Stay in your home & increase cash flow! Safe & Effective! Call Now for your FREE DVD! Call Now 888.418.0117. SAPA
FURNITURE REMAINING FURNITURE LUMBER Sale! Walnut, Butternut, Cherry, Ash & Curly Maple Slabs $4,000 Call for more info 828.627.2342
HAYWOOD BEDDING, INC. The best bedding at the best price! 533 Hazelwood Ave. Waynesville 828.456.4240
LUMBER CHESTNUT LUMBER Some 6 feet sections, Some 17 ft. boards $800. Call for more info 828.627.2342
Low-Cost spay and neuter services Hours: Monday-Thursday, 12 Noon - 5pm 145 Wall Street
MEDICAL ATTENTION DIABETICS With Medicare. Get a FREE Talking Meter and diabetic testing supplies at NO COST, plus FREE home delivery! Best of all, this meter eliminates painful finger pricking! Call 877.517.4633. SAPA ATTENTION DIABETICS With Medicare. Get a FREE talking meter and diabetic testing supplies at NO COST, plus FREE home delivery! Best of all, this meter eliminates painful finger pricking! Call 888.284.9573. ATTENTION SLEEP APNEA Sufferers with Medicare. Get FREE CPAP Replacement Supplies at NO COST, plus FREE home delivery! Best of all, prevent red skin sores and bacterial infection! Call 888.470.8261. SAPA
MEDICAL
RESPITE CARE AVAILABLE Are you the soul care giver for your loved one? Are you in need of some life of your own? Do you need a couple hours, a day, a weekend? If so, I am available to provide experienced compassionate Respite Care! Will provide references, Call Vicki for more info 828.768.4252 ATTENTION SLEEP APNEA Sufferers with Medicare. Get FREE CPAP Replacement Supplies at NO COST, plus FREE home delivery! Best of all, prevent red skin sores and bacterial infection! Call 877.763.9842. BEST PRICES, Huge discounts, Viagra™ 40 pills $99.00. Get Viagra™ for less than $3 per pill. Call NOW 1.888.721.2553. SAPA GOT RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS? Local doctors researching study drug for rheumatoid arthritis. Free study drug and care and up to $1,200 compensation. Please call: 1.866.655.1380. DO YOU KNOW YOUR Testosterone Levels? Call 888.414.0692 and ask about our test kits and get a FREE Trial of Progene All-Natural Testosterone Supplement. SAPA
MEDICAL ALERT For Seniors- 24/7 monitoring. FREE Equipment. FREE Shipping. Nationwide Service. $29.95/Month CALL Medical Guardian Today 866.413.0771. CANADA DRUG CENTER Is your choice for safe and affordable medications. Our licensed Canadian mail order pharmacy will provide you with savings of up to 90 percent on all your medication needs. Call Today 877.644.3199 for $25.00 off your first prescription and free shipping. SAPA
Ann knows real estate! Ann Eavenson CRS, GRI, E-PRO
ann@mainstreetrealty.net
506-0542 CELL 72115
FEELING OLDER? Men lose the ability to produce testosterone as they age. Call 888.414.0692 for a FREE trial of Progene- All Natural Testosterone Supplement. SAPA VIAGRA 100MG AND CIALIS 20MG! 40 pills + 4 FREE for only $99. #1 Male Enhancement, Discreet Shipping. Save $500! Buy The Blue Pill! Now 1.800.491.8751 SAPA
101 South Main St. Waynesville
MainStreet Realty
(828) 452-2227 mainstreetrealty.net
HOMES FOR SALE BRUCE MCGOVERN A Full Service Realtor shamrock13@charter.net McGovern Property Management 828.283.2112.
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Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
COMPARE QUALITY & PRICE Shop Tupelo’s, 828.926.8778.
Prevent Unwanted Litters And Improve The Health Of Your Pet
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BEWARE OF LOAN FRAUD. Please check with the Better Business Bureau or Consumer Protection Agency before sending any money to any loan company. SAPA
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WE SAVE YOU MONEY INDOOR & OUTDOOR
10-5 M-SAT. 12-4 SUN.
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Dozer - A wonderful, young male boxer. He has been on his own for awhile so needs some good nutrition and lots of love. Dozer is gentle, sweet, quiet and is enjoying getting everything he needs at Sarge's. Kayla - A spunky, talkative little gal who is friendly and just full of energy. Kayla has unique and beautiful cinnamon highlights throughout her marbled tabby pattern.
72319
ON DELLWOOD RD. (HWY. 19) AT 20 SWANGER LANE WAYNESVILLE/MAGGIE VALLEY 828.926.8778 72131
72137
Great Smokies Storage 10’x20’
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$
20’x20’
160
$
Mountain Realty
ONE MONTH
FREE WITH 12-MONTH CONTRACT
828.506.4112 or 828.507.8828 Conveniently located off 19/23 by Thad Woods Auction
smokymountainnews.com
TUPELO’S
BEST PRICE EVERYDAY
Ron Breese Broker/Owner 2177 Russ Ave. Waynesville, NC 28786 Cell: 828.400.9029 ron@ronbreese.com
www.ronbreese.com Each office independently owned & operated.
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WNC MarketPlace
REAL ESTATE ANNOUNCEMENT
Haywood County Real Estate Agents Beverly Hanks & Associates — beverly-hanks.com • • • • • • •
Michelle McElroy — beverly-hanks.com Marilynn Obrig — beverly-hanks.com Mike Stamey — beverly-hanks.com Ellen Sither — esither@beverly-hanks.com Jerry Smith — beverly-hanks.com Billie Green — bgreen@beverly-hanks.com Pam Braun — pambraun@beverly-hanks.com
EVER CONSIDER A Reverse Mortgage? At least 62 years old? Stay in your home & increase cash flow! Safe & Effective! Call Now for your FREE DVD! Call Now 888.418.0117. SAPA
All real estate advertising in this newspaper is subject to the Fair Housing Act which makes it illegal to advertise “any preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin, or an intention, to make any such preference, limitation or discrimination” Familial status includes children under the age of 18 living with parents or legal custodians, pregnant women and people securing custody of children under 18. This newspaper will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. Our readers are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised in this newspaper are available on an equal opportunity basis. To complain of discrimination call HUD toll-free at 1.800.669.9777. .
Haywood Properties — haywood-properties.com • Steve Cox — haywoodproperties.com
Keller Williams Realty kellerwilliamswaynesville.com • Rob Roland — robrolandrealty.com • Chris Forga — forgarentalproperties.com
Mountain Home Properties — mountaindream.com • Sammie Powell — smokiesproperty.com
Jan. 30-Feb. 5, 2013
20 ACRES FREE! Own 60 acres for 40 acre price/ payment. $0 Down, $198/month. Money Back Guarantee, NO CREDIT CHECKS. Beautiful Views, West Texas. 1.800.343.9444. SAPA
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE
ERA Sunburst Realty — sunburstrealty.com
Main Street Realty — mainstreetrealty.net McGovern Real Estate & Property Management • Bruce McGovern — shamrock13.com
Prudential Lifestyle Realty — vistasofwestfield.com Realty World Heritage Realty — realtyworldheritage.com • Carolyn Lauter — realtyworldheritage.com/realestate/viewagent/1701
www.smokymountainnews.com
2.819 ACRE TRACT Building Lot in great location. Build your second home log cabin here. Large 2-story building. Was a Hobby Shop. $81,000. Call 828.627.2342
LAND WANTED TO BUY SEEKING FORECLOSED PROPERTY (or cheap land) In Sylva, Waynesville, Jackson County or Haywood County. $10,000 or less. Have cash. Any size. Will consider a subdivided property. I am a good neighbor and rarely home. I would like to build a very small cabin on the property. Call Eric Sarratt at 828.333.4586
STORAGE SPACE FOR RENT GREAT SMOKIES STORAGE Conveniently located off 19/23 by Thad Woods Auction. Available for lease now: 10’x10’ units for $55, 20’x20’ units for $160. Get one month FREE with 12 month contract. Call 828.507.8828 or 828.506.4112 for more info.
APT. FOR RENT UNFURNISHED 2/BR 1/BA NEW APARTMENT Close to downtown Waynesville. Porch overlooks small stream. Central heat/air, W/D hook-ups. $625 + deposit & lease. No Pets. 828.506.9559 or 828.506.3365
2/BR, 1/BA APARTMENT In Beautiful Downtown Waynesville. 2nd Floor, W/D, Heat & Air, Clean & Ready to Live In, All Hookups Available. $750/mo. Move in with First & Last. Call 828.400.1040 or 828.400.1041
HOMES FOR RENT UNFURNISHED 3/BR 1/BA HOUSE FOR RENT Newly Remodeled! Set beautifully on mountain top in the Jonathan Creek area between Maggie Valley & Waynesville near Catoloochee Ski Resort. 4,500 foot magnificent views, fireplace, new well, gas heat. REDUCED TO $575/mo. Will also Sell, with some financing available! Call 828.287.8668 after 10:30am, or 828.980.1391 ask for Jim.
STEEL BUILDINGS STEEL BUILDINGS Save THOUSANDS on Cancelled orders. VERY Low Monthly payments. 5 Remaining. Must Go. 16x24, 20x26, 25x30, 30x40, 40x50 Call Now 757.301.8885. STEEL BUILDINGS: 4 only 20x26, 30x38, 40x54, 45x74. Selling for Balance Owed! Must Move Now! Still Crated/Free Delivery! 800.741.9262 x274. SAPA
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CAVALIER ARMS APARTMENTS
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS Offering 1, 2 & 3 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400
Section 8 Accepted - Handicapped Accessible Units When Available
Section 8 Accepted - Rental Assistance When Available Handicapped Accessible Units When Available
OFFICE HOURS: Tues. & Wed. 10:00am - 5:00pm & Thurs. 10:00am- 12:00pm 168 E. Nicol Arms Road Sylva, NC 28779
remax-waynesvillenc.com | remax-maggievalleync.com Brian K. Noland — brianknoland.com Connie Dennis — remax-maggievalleync.com Mark Stevens — remax-waynesvillenc.com Mieko Thomson — ncsmokies.com The Morris Team — maggievalleyproperty.com The Real Team — the-real-team.com Ron Breese — ronbreese.com Dan Womack — womackdan@aol.com Bonnie Probst — bonniep@remax-waynesvillenc.com
OFFICE HOURS: Monday 10:00am - 5:00pm & Thurs. 1:00pm- 6:00pm 50 Duckett Cove Road, Waynesville
Phone # 1-828-586-3346 TDD # 1-800-725-2962
Phone # 1-828-456-6776 TDD # 1-800-725-2962
Equal Housing Opportunity
Jerry Smith
Equal Housing Opportunity
Talk to your neighbors, then talk to me.
828-734-8765
®
See why State Farm insures more drivers than GEICO and Progressive combined. Great ser vice, plus discounts of up to 40 percent.* Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. C CALL ALL FFOR OR QUOTE QUOTE 24/7. 24/7.
jsmith@beverly-hanks.com
The Seller’s Agency — listwithphil.com 71298
74 N. Main St. • Waynesville
CALL NOW TO ADVERTISE IN THE NEXT ISSUE 828.452.4251 OR ads@smokymountainnews.com
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NICOL ARMS APARTMENTS
• Phil Ferguson — philferguson@bellsouth.net
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APT. FOR RENT UNFURNISHED
Offering 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments, Starting at $400
RE/MAX — Mountain Realty • • • • • • • • •
LOTS FOR SALE
72138
(828) 452-5809
www.Beverly-Hanks.com
®
Chad McMahon, A gent 3 4 5 Wa l n u t S t r e e t Waynesville, NC 28786 Bus: 828 - 452- 0567 chad.mcmahon.r v37@s t atef arm.com
1001174.1
*Discounts var y by states. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company State Farm Indemnit y Company, Blooming ton, IL
PERSONAL
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ATTEND COLLEGE ONLINE From home. Medical, Business, Criminal Justice, Hospitality. Job placement assistance. Computer available. Financial aid if qualified. SCHEV certified. Call Now 888.899.6918 or go to: www.CenturaOnline.com
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SERVICES
SERVICES SAVE ON Cable TV-Internet-Digital PhoneSatellite. You’ve Got A Choice! Options (ALL major service providers.) Call us to learn more! 1.877.516.0044. SAPA COMPUTER PROBLEMS? Viruses, spyware, email, printer issues, bad internet connections FIX IT NOW! Professional, U.S.based technicians. $25 off service. Call for immediate help. 1.888.431.2934. HIGHSPEED INTERNET Everywhere By Satellite! Speeds up to 12mbps! (200x faster than dialup.) Starting at $49.95/mo. CALL NOW & GO FAST! 1.888.714.6155 LOCAL PHONE SERVICE With long distance starting @ $19.99/mo. Taxes not included. No contract or credit check. Service states may vary. Call today: 1.888.216.1037 SAPA
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WEEKLY SUDOKU
Super
CROSSWORD
70 ... Country Music 73 Lady Liberty’s land 74 Win by - (barely triumph) ACROSS 1 Lets go by, as a chance 76 Clay worker 77 Univ. e-mail ending 9 Like some eyeglass 78 Garden of lenses 79 ... History 16 Short race 81 Nestlé’s - -Caps 20 Emerge again 83 Napping audibly 21 Medium tempo 85 Wear for a messy 22 Not tricked by meal 23 ... Nuclear Physics 86 Small inlet 25 Needle-nosed fishes 26 “Grand” instruments 88 Employer of many 27 Speak ill of, in slang CPAs 90 Dorothy, to Em 28 O.J. Simpson trial 91 Father’s Day honorees judge 94 Exam room noises 29 Cuban salsa singer 96 ... Modern Genetics Cruz 30 People who may share 100 Tremendous 103 Actor Mischa armrests 104 “The Raven” penner 32 ... the Symphony 105 ... Fitness 35 McKellen of 107 Libra “Scandal” 113 Shaw of jazz clarinet 36 Like the pope: Abbr. 114 Former Ford 37 Become laryngitic 115 “Either he goes - go” 38 ... Organized Crime 116 Iroquois tribe 44 Wd. with the same 117 Early 16th-century meaning year 45 Luggage screeners’ 118 ... the United States org. 122 Centuries on end 46 Lobbies with glass 123 Off base with perceilings mission 47 Ease off 124 It offers goods under 48 Motor noise a canvas shelter 50 Señora Perón 125 Hong Kong’s Hang 53 Golfer’s first stroke Index 56 - -jongg 126 Dawdled 58 ... Modern China 127 Playful marine 63 S&L options mammal 64 TV actress Arthur 66 Ease off DOWN 68 “False!” 1 Readies, briefly 69 Tantrum SUPER CROSSWORD THE FATHER OF ...
2 Falcon’s nest 3 Largest city in Yemen 4 Exhausted 5 Derby city 6 Leave port 7 Old Egypt-Syr. alliance 8 Wisdom 9 Cross words 10 Suffix with brilliant 11 32nd prez 12 Dumb and clumsy 13 Bill worth 100 clams 14 Waste away 15 Was ahead 16 Folded-over page corner 17 Investment firm worker 18 Long steps 19 Biblical cry of praise 24 Scale notes 29 Single dance move? 31 Fraternity “T” 32 First mo. 33 “Then again,” in a chat room 34 Darling 36 Supper club 38 Queen of rap 39 Of the womb 40 Maker 41 SWAK part 42 Slangy approval 43 Aptiva maker 44 Dirty streak 49 New no more 51 Vehicles for large families 52 - -Z (totally) 54 Kobe sash 55 Seduce 57 Toast starter 59 Essentials 60 Hit the books
61 Very nature 62 Hardly the saintly type 65 Secret love affairs 67 More hokey, as a joke 70 “Star Wars” knight 71 “Who’s there?” reply 72 Quick trot 75 Cry out loud 78 Activist Brockovich 80 Malia or Sasha 82 The “O” of NATO: Abbr. 84 Not divided 87 “Son of -!” 89 Clever, specious reasoners 91 Crib clothes 92 Prize getter 93 Division 95 Modern Greek 97 Mr. (old whodunit game) 98 Caviar base 99 Loggins & (“Your Mama Don’t Dance” duo) 101 Aspen sport 102 Bullring holler 103 - Doria (ill-fated liner) 106 Bikini Island, e.g. 107 Lilt syllable 108 Italian for “hundred” 109 Neurotic worrying 110 Unleash upon 111 School, in Paris 112 More rational 115 Fell behind financially 118 Zeus or Thor 119 Ben- 120 Eden exile 121 “Te- -!”
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The hardest tree in North America It is the most durable of all our hardwoods; taking white oak as the standard of 100 percent, black locust has a durability of 250 percent. — D.C. Peattie, A Natural History of Trees
I
George Ellison
wrote a tribute to the black locust tree some time back. It’s time to take another look. This time around we’ll incorporate the perspectives of a French arborist who visited America during the mid-nineteenth century. Locust is a winter tree. Outdoors, it’s durable in extreme weather and indoors, it makes superb firewood. When I refer Columnist to locust, it’s to black locust (Pseudoacacia robinia), not one of the several other species in that genus such as honey locust. I’m fairly competent at the identification of deciduous trees during the flowering and fruiting seasons, when I can observe bark, leaves, general growth habit, and flowers or fruit. I’m less adept during the winter months, when one I have to rely on bark, buds, and general growth habit. One tree, however, I do recognize without any difficulty whatsoever in winter is the
BACK THEN black locust. It’s dark-brown (sometimes grayish) deeply-furrowed and cross-checked bark is a dead giveaway. A really mature black locust tree will display bark so deeply furrowed and cross-checked it resembles an alligator’s hide. And unlike, say, a tulip poplar, the trunk of a black locust doesn’t grow straight and true. Stand at the base of one and look upward. You’ll observe that the trunk ascends in a sinuous almost serpentlike fashion, as does sourwood. And unlike, say, tulip poplar, the grain of the wood is not long and easily worked. For these reasons, black locust was never, to my knowledge, utilized in the southern mountains in the exterior construction of log cabins. The best description of the essential attributes of black locust I have encountered is provided by Donald Culross Peattie in A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America (1950): “In the first place almost the entire woody cylinder of the trunk is heartwood, always the strongest part of a tree. It is the seventh hardest in all our sylva and, as to strength in position of a beam, locust is the strongest in North America outside the tropics. It is the stiffest of our woods, exceeding hickory by 40 percent. Of all important hardwoods, black locust shrinks least in drying, losing only 10 percent volume … The wood takes such a high polish as to appear var-
nished. The fuel value of black locust is higher than any other American tree, exceeding even hickory and oak, being almost the equal, per cord at 20 percent moisture content, of a ton of anthracite coal. “Yet with all these splendid qualities black locust is not even mentioned in the usual lumbering statistics. The chief reason is that the locust borer beetle (Megacyllene robiniae) is so ruinous in many regions that black locust is too seldom found in sound condition. Locust boards are therefore almost unknown, and the only common uses has been for fence posts, railway ties, and small articles such as rake teeth, ladder rungs, and (in the days when such things were in common use) buggy whips and policemen’s clubs.” During the era of wooden-hulled sailing ships, treenails (wooden pins) fashioned from black locust were utilized in European shipyards for pegging the planking of hulls. When placed in contact with water, the treenails swelled and held tighter than iron rivets; moreover, they did not rust when in contact with salt water. It has been estimated that between 50,000 and 100,000 black locust tree “nails” were exported annually from Philadelphia alone during the early 1800s. In this region, black locust was highly prized by the Cherokees and early settlers. It was so useful, in fact, for blowgun darts, bows, “nails,” and other items they planted
and cultivated the rapidly growing tree. The early settlers had numerous other uses for the rot-resistant wood, especially as base logs and interior beams for houses or outbuildings, firewood, and as durable fence posts. Farmers in some areas have planted locust groves for the purpose of providing fenceposts. Since the tree grows two-to-three feet per year and sends up suckers from its roots, a small grove could supply a lot of posts. Let’s close with the following observations made by M. Pepin, principal of the School of Botany at the Jardin du Roi in Paris, published in the issue of Scientific American for Jan. 9, 1847, as well as other periodicals. A number of black locust trees were felled that had been planted from 40 to 50 years; but not more than one to five of those wheelwrights [makers of wheels] who came to purchase, appreciated sufficiently the locust, the others preferring elm. Ultimately, the locust was sold to the persons who knew its value, at one-third higher price than the elm. The purchasers found that spokes made of the wood in question lasted two sets of “felloes” [wheel rims], and were likely to answer for a third. Under equal circumstances of wear and tear, spokes made of locust wood were perfectly sound, while those of oak required to be replaced. (George Ellison can be reached at
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